Bidding.
The absurd word hung in the air, freezing the atmosphere. Zhou Qi’an strained to keep his eyelids from closing, quietly waiting for this special auction to begin.
The statue’s eyes flickered between dark and cloudy, alternating back and forth, with constant cruelty lurking deep within.
Many had once prayed before the statue—men, women, the elderly and young, millions of people whose desires could be summed up in simple words: wealth, love, life, offspring, and vengeance.
Zhou Qi’an was the only one who, before the statue, prayed to witness the most natural yet rare sight at this moment—
Dawn.
“Day and night alternate, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west…”
This was the law of nature.
Not just to fulfill the survival guide’s request, Zhou Qi’an, for the first time, desperately wanted to see the sun.
Hot, blazing, sunlight shining through without obstruction, he longed to see the entire estate bathed in sunlight.
He didn’t know how much time had passed, but finally, the statue responded. The countless voices in his head that nearly drove him insane gathered into a single, short phrase: Life.
The first bidder—the former evil god—had placed their offer.
Zhou Qi’an relaxed his lips, waiting for the statue’s eyes to shift to the cold, shadowy gaze of Xun Er. His colorless lips moved, and he softly asked, “What about you?”
As the bidding drama unfolded on one side, a blatant defense of Zhou Qi’an was playing out on the other.
The veteran players stood side by side, forming a strong line of defense to prevent Xun the Wealthy from ambushing Zhou Qi’an from behind. The college student, seemingly useless, was occasionally pulled in to block the attacks. Luckily, after being reborn in the lake, his physical condition had greatly improved, and he still had half a life left.
“Help… help me,” the college student muttered, pleading to an empty void.
Around them, all kinds of items were being used, creating a strange battle effect. Blood rained down from the ceiling, pooling on the floor and flowing back into Xun the Wealthy’s body, merging with him.
It was like facing an invincible monster!
“Are you even capable of this…”
Han Li glanced back. Already badly wounded, she was struggling to keep up.
Zhou Qi’an didn’t respond.
Mr. Si remained in the dark corner, observing with cold eyes.
In his hand, a comically small retro umbrella appeared out of nowhere, shielding him from the corrosive meat chunks falling from the ceiling.
There was no bloody frenzy, no killing over the artifact, just a strangely peaceful scene. This harmony, however, only made Mr. Si, who was already in a bad mood, grit his teeth.
“I don’t believe this.”
Selfishness is a player’s natural survival instinct, and he didn’t believe this seemingly peaceful scene would last long.
A loophole soon appeared.
Han Li, heavily injured, was starting to give up.
Mr. Si scanned her hesitant expression, his lips curling into a smile, but just as he was about to react, a weak voice suddenly came from above.
The rabbit ears, like antennas, were the first to catch it—
“Fifteen years of life for one, fifteen years of life for two…”
“What? Reproductive ability? Fine…” This was a price drop compared to life.
“Reproductive ability for one…” Zhou Qi’an’s hoarse voice, lacking tone, continued, “Reproductive ability for two…”
He was conducting a grand auction.
“You don’t want reproductive ability, do you want a kidney?”
Go away.
Mr. Si looked over in surprise.
Not just him, but all the players were itching to turn around.
Where is this? A market?
For a moment, Xun the Wealthy, with his ghostly appearance, seemed like a tough old vegetable seller in the bidding war.
“Hair, want it? It’s better than a kidney.” Aren’t all perverts fond of collecting these?
Zhou Qi’an spoke these words to Xun Er, his breath ragged and shallow.
Xun Er, of course, wouldn’t agree to such a deal.
He and the evil god were locked in a contest. Right now, they both needed the last straw to crush the other. The greater the cost the wish-maker paid, the heavier the weight of that straw.
Even though his breath was weak, Zhou Qi’an kept his smile, “Still life, but it needs to be…”
He slowly uttered two words: “Crowdfunding.”
“Help me, spread the word. Tell them… each person adds three years of life.”
Five people in total, just enough for fifteen years.
No need to spread the word, the corridor was narrow enough. Xun the Wealthy was in his healing phase, and at this moment, he was not frantically laughing maniacally.
The players heard everything clearly.
Their faces turned a little pale.
Zhou Qi’an swallowed hard, accidentally pulling at his wound. “Hiss… Otherwise, each person adds a kidney…”
That’s a total of five kidneys!
An astronomical number.
The bottom line of a person is constantly lowering.
Compared to the kidneys, fifteen years of life span sounds like a terrifying number, but when averaged out, with everyone donating a little, it is distributed within a reasonable range.
The college student’s expression was nearly as dazed as Zhou Qi’an’s: “Am I crazy?”
Why does it feel like a good deal?
“So this is how the instance is played…”
Teacher, principal, I’ve learned.
“Bullshit.” Han Li couldn’t help but curse. Who plays games like this?
“Stop dawdling.” Every word Zhou Qi’an said was through gritted teeth: “Queue up, incense… quickly.”
Still needing someone to teach them how to make a wish, too exhausting.
Among all the players, Han Li was the most ruthless, but she was also the first to respond to Zhou Qi’an.
Others were still momentarily stunned by this absurd scene, their minds blank for a moment, but she saw a way out and immediately scrambled in.
Worship who?
Zhou Qi’an didn’t directly say.
But she already had the answer in her mind.
Han Li yanked the college student in front of her to block him from any sudden moves by Xun Fuweng. In the college student’s pale face, she tilted her head and said to Han Tiansheng, “If you can help, do it. Don’t screw it up.”
If they all died, each of them would have to share the life that the other had to sacrifice.
The college student staggered from being pulled, and unexpectedly met Zhou Qi’an’s dying but calm eyes.
— “From a human perspective, when absolutely necessary, you can seek help from him.”
Mr. Si had said this before, and it suddenly flashed in his mind.
In some sense, the biggest beneficiary of this proposal was actually the college student.
At least, as long as he persisted until the end to worship, he would no longer be like a broken doll, dragged out at any time to block the blade, disregarding life and death.
To avoid sacrificing more life, the old players would help share some.
The college student swallowed.
So, could that person really be a good person?
“It’s your turn, hurry up.” Han Tiansheng urged.
For once, the college student stood firm and said, “I’ll go last.”
“You…”
The college student gritted his teeth and refused to move.
Time was running out; Zhou Qi’an was already on the brink. Han Tiansheng shot him a sharp glare and chose to go first.
“Move closer to the idol.” Meanwhile, Chen Jian spoke.
Xun Fuweng was extremely fearful of that fishing spear and had mostly been in long-range attack mode, which gave them a chance.
As the wish deepened, the foul smell from the idol suddenly became much stronger. Zhou Qi’an’s brain, which had just quieted down, was filled with numerous strange sounds. This time, it wasn’t the prayers of past worshippers to the evil god, but the sound coming directly from the evil god itself—
“Human ants, you do not honor the gods.”
Zhou Qi’an’s mouth twitched.
He was the only one here, a precise strike.
He glanced at the players still kneeling below, thinking to himself, all lives are equal, why don’t you curse the others too?
“Blasphemers…” The evil god seemed to have surround sound, the voice coming from an ancient, distant place: “Shall face punishment!”
The last four words had little fluctuation, missing the anger of the previous speech.
Players who were approaching the idol had all gotten goosebumps. Especially Han Tiansheng, who was hurriedly placing incense in the burner.
Almost simultaneously, a huge noise rang out.
The incense burner fell from the offering table, leaning to one side. With an explosive sound, the heavy burner suddenly cracked open along a seam.
The evil god, in anger… exploded the burner.
Between Xun Er and the evil god, the players unanimously chose to make a wish to Xun Er.
Even a fool knew that supporting the new power and fighting the old evil forces would lead to a mutually destructive result.
“Don’t care, speed up, just offer the incense.”
Xun Fuweng was overcoming his fear and approaching them, and Han Tiansheng urged relentlessly.
The burner hadn’t been completely destroyed, so there was still a chance.
When Chen Jian hurriedly finished offering incense and it was finally the college student’s turn, he was horrified to find that two-thirds of the idol’s face had transformed into Xun Er’s appearance. Zhou Qi’an was surrounded by black mist, floating in mid-air, still gripping the metal handle of the fishing spear, unwilling to let go.
The remaining small part of the evil god’s half was raising its giant hand, seemingly about to crush him.
“Make a wish!” Han Li shouted from behind.
“I, I volunteer to offer three years of life to Xun Er…”
The trembling words caused the idol’s remaining eye to open wide, and the college student was so frightened that he sat down on the ground.
The hand paused in mid-air.
From the crack in the eye, a long slit began to twist and extend downward, almost splitting the idol in two. Inside the gap was not hollow porcelain, nor black mist, but flesh.
In the large area of the idol’s face, which retained Xun Er’s features, the flesh walls were covered with flesh buds, and in the pus-filled bumps, there were countless sharp teeth hidden.
Zhou Qi’an had only seen this scene before when forced to deal with fish.
Creak, creak.
The teeth greedily devoured, desperately eating away at the other half of the idol.
The other half wasn’t going to sit idly by, but unfortunately, the fishing spear was stuck in its eye, restricting the old idol’s power.
Han Li covered the college student’s mouth with her remaining hand to prevent him from screaming.
“Keep your mouth shut.”
She was afraid that even the slightest noise would attract the idol’s attention and cause them to be eaten as food.
The two halves of the idol, one with an eerie smile and the other with an angry face, were madly eating each other. Even veteran players, who had witnessed countless grotesque and terrifying scenes, were shocked by this one.
I’ve killed myself before.
But I’ve eaten myself… unheard of.
And yet, Zhou Qi’an, who was closest to the scene, remained unmoved.
He was on the brink of being driven mad by the countless voices from before, the sounds of chewing in his ears were the least of his concerns. The omnipresent black mist devoured the vital energy in his body, and his originally thin frame seemed to wither away.
He wasn’t sure how long had passed, but just when he was about to collapse, the world seemed to fall silent again.
This nerve-wracking tug-of-war ended with Xun Er’s overwhelming victory. Half of the new idol remained broken, clearly Xun Er was heavily wounded, and the accumulated faith energy from the old evil god gradually dissipated in the ruins.
Xun Er was hungrier.
The idol lowered its head, focusing on Zhou Qi’an, who was nearly unconscious.
Slowly, it raised its arm, its cold and grotesque fingers exploring his neck. When it found the slightly protruding Adam’s apple, a crimson tongue licked its lips.
This was the sign of impending consumption.
The college student tried to wake Zhou Qi’an, but Han Li’s grip was too strong, and he couldn’t make a sound.
The wall of flesh had melted away considerably. Han Li silently used her elbow to open the door to Xun Fuweng’s room, and through the window, she saw the morning star.
It was a sign of dawn!
It was hope.
No matter how much the new evil god wanted to kill them, it had to respond to Zhou Qi’an’s prayer, as that was the rule.
With the appearance of the morning star, the blood water from the gathered flesh could no longer flow back into Xun Fuweng’s body, successfully suppressing the power of the important NPC.
Everyone was focused on the morning star, and for a moment, no one paid attention to Zhou Qi’an.
The idol’s body was much taller than a human’s, and its cold arms easily wrapped around the young man’s waist.
At this moment, the blood from the young man’s lips caused the new idol’s hunger to grow immensely.
It didn’t act immediately, not due to restraint, but because it had been tricked too many times before.
Could it be that this cunning human still had some hidden trick?
The idol’s remaining eye stared at the young man. It was so enormous, it seemed to try to see through his fragile and beautiful skin.
Zhou Qi’an’s nearly exhausted body stiffened slightly.
In his dazed state, he thought of his late father.
Having depended on his mother for so long, Zhou Qi’an hadn’t thought of the man for a long time, to the point where he had almost forgotten his face and voice.
But Zhou Qi’an still remembered the scene from his childhood, when the man would coax him to sleep. The man would always gently pat his back while telling him stories from One Thousand and One Nights in a soft, deep voice.
“The cruel king would kill his bride the day after marrying her.”
“The kind Shahrazad willingly married the king.”
“Every night, she would tell the king a story, stopping at the most exciting part, so the king couldn’t bring himself to kill her…”
The young child didn’t understand: “Why couldn’t he bring himself to do it?”
“Because, the king’s expectations were the best protection for the new queen…”
The lesson was: don’t always calculate, don’t always face challenges head-on, but always act unexpectedly.
Only by doing so could one obtain Xun Er’s slight slackening.
After a long time, Zhou Qi’an’s tightly shut eyes finally opened. His body was covered in wounds, his skin turned inside out, and his soaked clothes were continuously drenched in blood and sweat, making him look like a beautiful corpse floating in the sea.
“Is, is it dawn?”
He mumbled, as if trying to grasp something. Weak, helpless — this was the last straw that a believer clings to, in stark contrast to the strong demeanor he usually showed beneath his calm appearance.
Xun Er had rehearsed countless ways Zhou Qi’an might retaliate, but he never expected this — weakness, a seemingly unbelievable reliance.
This stood in sharp contrast to their previous encounters, where Zhou Qi’an had been strong.
His display of weakness clearly greatly pleased Xun Er.
The evil god’s gray-white eyes froze for a moment.
An opportunity!
Zhou Qi’an’s eyes suddenly sparkled, and with a pale smile, he weakly grinned. The next moment, his hand, searching the air, found the metal rod and forcefully pulled out the fishing spear, piercing the idol’s neck from behind.
The entire action was seamless, without a single pause, far exceeding the limit of what a human could do in a weak state.
Crack.
A crisp sound echoed.
Once the porcelain was cracked open, countless fissures began to spread across the idol’s body.
“You…” There was no divine presence, no humanity in its eyes, only surprise. The all-powerful new evil god couldn’t understand: Why did the dying, withering aura suddenly regain vitality?
It was certain that just moments ago, the other had been on the brink of death.
“I told you…” A faint light shone through from outside, the young man’s face bearing a hollow smile: “It’s a bad habit for cats to play with mice. When you meet a prey, you should bite it to death.”
How foolish must one be to make the same mistake three times?
As its grayish, cloud-like eyes turned completely dim, black mist began to waft out, dispersing with the wind.
When the old evil god dissipated, there was no such anomaly.
The fatigue in his brain was overwhelming. Zhou Qi’an didn’t have the strength to think further; he only relished in the fruits of his victory. Xun Er’s initial moment of doubt had been right — he did have a trump card, and the last one, the simplest, was the Health Boost Pill.
This item, described in the system as a fast-acting healing item, helped him use the Holy Artifact one last time.
The sudden blood loss made his lips turn pale again. As the sound of the idol shattering echoed, Zhou Qi’an smiled: “Good night.”
He knew, his dawn was coming.
