Chapter 63: The King of Games

The deaths of two civilians in quick succession left the Hero critically wounded, with only half a heart remaining, hovering precariously above his head.

The Hero and the Witch were now on equal footing in terms of health. Whoever landed the final blow would win.

Cha Eunjae snapped out of his daze, crawling forward with great effort. He picked up his knife, struggling to stand.

“Don’t come any closer.” Yu An warned, his voice trembling as he glanced back. His pupils flickered with unease.

A sudden realization struck him. Ji Nian had deliberately misread the positions of the knots, hoping Yu An would push Cha Eunjae off the cliff to his death. And earlier, when Ji Nian claimed Ai Ke had died shielding him, it was likely because Ji Nian had stabbed Ai Ke from the front, draining his remaining half-heart.

From the moment they entered the Witch’s Legend scenario, Ji Nian had been scheming to eliminate all the civilians to ensure his own victory.

Why?

James’s weakness caused the glow of the War Banner to dim and flicker. The Spear and Axe Knight swung its massive axe at Yu An, who leaped high to avoid it. As he descended, he landed firmly on the axe’s blade.

The knight’s strength depended on the controller at the center of the War Banner. Now, it couldn’t even lift its weapon. The knight roared, throwing its arms upward with all its might. Yu An seized the opportunity to jump off, and the long-handled axe flew upward, smashing into the knight’s forehead. The silver-armored knight toppled, and the golden encirclement broke open.

Yu An picked up the Refinement Badge from the ground and hung it on his chest. He turned on the flashlight, its bright beam aimed directly at James as he charged forward. In one swift motion, he leaped onto James, pinning him down. One hand pressed the flashlight against James’s eyes, while the other grappled with him.

James cried out in pain, shielding his eyes from the blinding light. He stumbled backward until his back hit the rough cliff wall. His snow-white hair began to dry and curl, his slender, beautiful hands rapidly aging and cracking. He couldn’t open his eyes, not even when a knife pressed against his throat.

James’s body erupted in a cascade of red plasma code. Zhao Ran’s form collapsed and shifted, the model rapidly changing until it reverted to James’s original appearance.

Golden curls framed his ears, his heterochromatic gold and blue eyes half-closed in exhaustion. Pixelated earrings dangled from his ears, and he stood with his hands behind his back, like a delinquent student waiting outside a classroom.

Once restored to his original form, James finally escaped the agony of the blinding light. He flashed a small, pleading smile, revealing his fangs.

“Can you wait a little longer before killing me?” James asked, his voice soft and desperate. “I’m about to enter the cocooning stage. If you form a contract with me, I can become anyone you like. I can create anything you want. In the game, I’m the king.”

He leaned closer, whispering into Yu An’s ear. “My world has no other humans. Every day, I wait behind the screen for you to visit us. Wouldn’t you like to keep a little dog like me? Two of them, even.”

“…?”

Yu An felt like he’d punched cotton^[1]. Three interns had died in this scenario, all because of J.S. If Cha Eunjae also died here, Yu An wouldn’t be able to explain himself once they got out. In the final moments of a life-or-death battle, his opponent had surrendered and started acting cute.

This was the perfect moment to form a contract. In the Witch’s Legend scenario, even if James entered the berserk state of cocooning, he’d only have half a heart. If Yu An could land just one hit, he could kill him. And since the J.S brothers shared Aberrant Cores and bodies, defeating one in the cocoon would count as a successful contract.

Yu An’s palm grew warm. He opened his left hand, and a neon-pixelated ghost face pattern appeared on his skin. It was James’s mark.

With this mark, Yu An had the right to end him within the cocoon.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through Yu An’s lower back. A burning sensation spread from his spine to his chest. He twisted his neck, trying to see what was behind him, and caught a glimpse of the twisting golden sun pattern glowing angrily through his clothes.

An inexplicable, intense force clashed with the mark on his palm. The fluorescent ghost face shattered, its stardust drifting down between his fingers.

The Aberrant Core in Yu An’s left eye pulsed violently, almost syncing with his heartbeat. He suddenly remembered the countdown was still ticking. When he switched his vision to his left eye, the timer showed only three seconds left.

Three seconds. A blink of an eye. The countdown reached zero, and a gray dialog box popped up with a single button: “Confirm.“

“Your daily gaming time has reached one hour. Your opponent has been forcibly logged out.“

James’s strength drained away in an instant. He closed his eyes, sliding down the rock until he sat on the ground, motionless, as if he’d gone idle.

Yu An crouched in front of him, reaching up to remove the purple Aberrant Core from his left eye. He clenched it in his hand.

This was the first time Yu An had killed an Aberrant capable of expressing such vivid emotions. He wasn’t sure how to feel. He could kill out of anger or hatred, or wield justice to judge the guilty. But now, he felt something strange, as if he’d kicked a stray dog that had come to lick his hand. He could only console himself with the fact that the dog had bitten someone before.

Yu An searched James’s body, finding a hard object embedded in his thigh. With a swift motion, he cut it open and extracted the Aberrant Core.

He held the half-golden Aberrant Core in his palm, its delicate eggshell color glowing softly with a golden halo.

Tier 1 Aberrant Core – King of Games 

Only half of it remained. The other half was still inside S.

Yu An felt a piercing gaze on him. He looked up sharply, spotting Huang Qi hiding in a crevice in the rocks, his cold eyes fixed on James’s body.

Yu An immediately stood and hurled his knife. The blade embedded itself deep into the crevice, its steel surface reflecting Huang Qi’s eyes—gold and blue, the opposite of James’s.

S from J.S, Saranka. He slowly retreated into the crevice, disappearing into the darkness.

After Saranka left, James’s body model crumpled and shrank, eventually transforming into a pixelated keychain of a golden-haired, heterochromatic boy. It automatically attached itself to Yu An’s belt.

The life-and-death battle was finally over. Only two people remained alive.

Yu An hung his head, his eyes shadowed by his hair. The Mask of the Dead Lake dripped small shadows onto the ground.

Cha Eunjae leaned against the rock wall, resting with his hand on his knee. He spoke to Yu An for the first time.

“Witch, you’ve won. What happens to me now?”

He didn’t believe Yu An had any way to save both the civilians and the Witch in this scenario. He assumed Yu An’s earlier promises were just desperate lies, and he could understand that. Desperation wasn’t shameful.

Yu An kept his head down, his expression pained, as if blood were dripping from the tip of his nose.

He picked up a black stone from the ground and, wincing, began to draw a semicircle. He meticulously shaped it into a perfect half-circle.

“I’ve played Witch’s Legend fifty times and never lost. I’ve never had a fight this brutal before. Normally, by the time you get the gift box in the previous level, you should have drawn a high-damage weapon. Since the Witch has less health, the chances of getting good equipment are higher than the Hero’s. I thought I’d get the Witch’s Dagger, which deals two damage per hit, or Athena’s Shield, which blocks one fatal hit. At the very least, I should’ve gotten a Voodoo Doll that makes the opponent lose health over time. Instead, I got two pieces of junk.”

He muttered as he reviewed the brutal battle. Suddenly, a silver light emanated from his left eye. The hand-shaped pattern of the Picture Within the Painting Core flashed briefly. He plunged his right hand into the ground, pulling out the drawing he’d just made.

It was the Core Box Expansion he’d bought from the Midnight Merchant.

Yu An placed the Anti-Addiction System and the half King of Games Core into the expansion pocket. Then, he pulled out a Tier 3 Purple Aberrant Core and embedded it into his left eye socket.

Name: Function Core – Reversal Fairy Tale
Source: Unknown (sold by the Midnight Merchant)
Type: Common Variant
Grade: Tier 3 Purple (Mallow Purple)
Primary Ability: Change the current outcome
Usage Limit: 20 times in total
Description: Why should the Little Mermaid turn into foam? Why doesn’t the prince abandon his feet for her?
Resonance Requirement: Unknown

Cha Eunjae could hardly believe his eyes. Someone had just removed an old Aberrant Core and replaced it with a new one right in front of him.

The Witch card above Yu An’s head spun rapidly, finally stopping to reveal the image of a Hero holding a sword and shield.

The Hero identity not only allowed him to lead civilians to victory but also granted double rewards if he defeated the boss with only half a heart remaining.

Four gift boxes appeared around Yu An—two for clearing the level, two for delivering the final blow.

“Tell the interviewer I never considered the lowly option of killing all the interns to win. If that’s what he thought of me, he owes me an apology when we get out.”

*

Underground Metro, the Boss’s Office

Zhao Ran sat in front of the computer, watching the battle unfold. When a character identical to him appeared in the game, he couldn’t hold back his anger. “Did they hack my account?”

“I think Yu An is the Witch.” the Boss speculated with interest.

“He might kill all the interns to save himself. I need to go back and check.” Zhao Ran said.

“Don’t rush.”

…

When Zhao Ran saw James imprint the contract mark on Yu An’s hand, he was furious. He pressed the Boss’s shoulder. “Boss, I’m leaving. If I don’t go now, my home will be robbed.”

“What are you going to do? Xiao Yu is doing well, isn’t he?”

“To keep an eye on the interns. You’ve kept me here watching the stream as the team leader. If something happens, it’s all my responsibility. I’ll be locked up for life.”

“Who said that?” the Boss chuckled leisurely. “Aren’t you already inside?” He pointed at the screen, where James was disguised as Zhao Ran. “Even if the reporters dig to the bottom, you’ve been with the interns the whole time. Remember that. Let the PR team edit some footage and spin the story.”

Zhao Ran didn’t want to argue with the Boss. He turned and walked out of the office, nearly colliding with the young lady.

The young lady, dressed in white, had just returned, her hair slightly disheveled but still elegant. She nodded politely to Zhao Ran before hurrying into the Boss’s office and slamming the door. The sound of her high heels clicking against the floor echoed through the room.

“Three interns are severely injured, and one might never wake up. Why? Why was Zhao Ran kept here?!”

“Oh, my dear, the intern from the emergency unit is incredibly skilled. There’s no need to worry so much…”

“But Ji Nian can’t be saved! You knew Li Xing had betrayed us all along. That’s why you called Ji Nian in advance to replace the transmission chip with Drift Racing’s patented model… He’s just a fresh graduate. What did you threaten him with?”

“Hmm… One intern’s life in exchange for Drift Racing’s downfall. You should do the math, my dear. Even if I did nothing, his team leader would’ve killed him anyway. The transmission chip in his brain had a bomb installed. All I asked was for him to protect Yu An no matter what. Is that too much to ask?”

“So that’s why you sent Ni Lan and Huo Yangui away… You only wanted to protect these three interns, didn’t you?”

“Ji Nian was clever. He didn’t lose out in our deal. In exchange for his sister’s lifelong security, with everything she could ever want and protection from Aberrants, where else could he work to get such a deal?”

“My dear, in business, you have to understand that you can’t gain without sacrifice. You can’t be too kind, or you’ll feel wronged when others point fingers at you.”

The heavy door closed, leaving only the young lady’s disappointed silence.

Zhao Ran lingered outside for a moment before quietly leaving.

—

P.S. Only one chapter left to finish this arc. Next time: The Top Three Interns Speedrun Plague Village, Meet the Furious Coal Ball with 999 Damage Per Punch.