Ita Era

Chapter 107 Acting on a whim

Yu Yuan said, "The first question is irrelevant to solving the problem. Ask the second question first." Don't treat people's points as if you're asking them for favors.

Silly Dagger's questline is a bit different from theirs, and the way he earns quest points is also different. To others, quest points are hard to earn, but to Silly Dagger, quest points are simply a form of currency for spending.

After a short while, Sha Bi said, "Destroying the evil spirit's soul or killing the pig demon can prevent the evil spirit from descending. To kill the evil spirit's soul, it must be stained with the blood of at least two humans. The reason is that it can only be stained with the blood of sacrifices. Once the number of sacrifices exceeds two, its soul will be torn apart."

Sha Bi said, "The way to eliminate the pig demon is to eliminate the pig demon, kill it, there's no trick to it."

Foolish Dagger: "The answer also includes a bonus: you can use your own blood to nourish evil spirits. Taking Ding Shi as an example, if you smear your own blood on the soul of an evil spirit, the evil spirit will recognize you as a sacrifice and will follow you around, trying to suck your blood. You can voluntarily offer your blood to nourish evil spirits and have the opportunity to gain the recognition of the evil spirit's soul and merge into your soul. Because the evil spirit's soul is an incomplete soul, your soul can control its soul."

Sha Bi said, "This is ghost power. As for what this evil spirit is, what kind of ghost power it can provide, and what the side effects are, we don't know."

Ding Shi said, "As long as I smear my blood on the evil spirit's soul, the evil spirit will not be able to have a complete form unless I become a sacrifice."

Sha Bi nodded: "Yes."

Ding Shi asked, "The second question is, why are eight human sacrifices needed?"

A few minutes later, Foolish Dagger replied: "Between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. tonight, they will kill four couples and fill the pentagram grooves with their blood. This will directly activate the blood sacrifice array, forcibly infusing the evil spirit's soul into the pig demon's body. After completing this final step, the complete form of the evil spirit will be born."

Ding Shi suddenly realized: "No wonder they don't want to deal with the pig demon."

Yu Yuan said, "Either we deal with the pig demon or the evil spirit before 11 p.m., or we rescue at least one sacrifice before 11 p.m.

"That's a very good summary," said the fool. "Wasn't I clear enough?"
The woman in red interjected, "Judging from Ding Shi's description, this pig demon is extremely ferocious and beyond our capabilities. The evil spirit's soul has no offensive power; as long as it is smeared with a person's blood, the evil spirit's soul will follow that person. We can then smear it with a second person's blood and destroy the evil spirit."

Ding Shi said, "But evil spirits are hard to find."

The woman in red said, "Evil spirits have no offensive power and are very cunning, so why don't they leave Workshop 4?"

Ding Shi said, "You mean the evil spirits can't leave Workshop 4?"

The woman in red nodded: "I think the movement of evil spirits is limited. You saw it in the dark the first time, and under the table the second time. Could you understand it this way: it can only move in the dark or shadows, and cannot cross the light?"

The two looked at each other for a second, then both turned to look at Sha Bi.

Silly Bite had no choice but to spend another 50 points to buy the answer, saying, "That's roughly it, he can only move around in the shadows."

Yu Yuan said, "Things become very simple. Let's go to Workshop 4 together and find the evil spirit's soul."

……

At noon, after eating biscuits, Yu Yuan, along with the wounded bandaged woman guarding the command post, and Sha Bi, Hongyi, Ding Shi, Liu He, and the Iron Shirt girl, headed towards Workshop No. 4. The five of them split into three groups, entering from the front, side, and back doors respectively, forming an encirclement around the evil spirit.

Before setting off, everyone pricked their fingers with a needle, squeezing them to draw blood if needed, to avoid delaying the mission. If someone could smear the blood onto the evil spirit's soul, the operation would be half successful.

Ding Shi entered Workshop 4 alone through the side door. The workshop was still dark, relying solely on natural light. Ding Shi felt a pang of pity for the team's poor organization; hadn't anyone considered going to the power distribution room to turn on all the lights in the workshop?
The archer from Building 5 reported: "They went to Building 4. It seems they want to wipe out the evil spirit. It looks like they already know the evil spirit's weakness."

The man with the pistol said, "I'll go find an NPC follower and lure the pig demon to Workshop 4."

Archer Girl: "Our inside man hasn't contacted us at all."

Pistol B: "It doesn't matter. The most important thing now is to buy time. As long as we can hold out until 4 p.m., when the sun starts to set, the shadow of Workshop 4 will connect with Workshop 5. The evil spirit will sense the threat and will have no choice but to come to Workshop 5. The other side has a sharpshooter. Your sister has already been killed by him. Be careful."

Archer Girl: "I understand."

The woman in red and the woman in iron armor entered through the side door and quickly realized something was wrong. Upon exiting, they saw a pig demon devouring a believer just six meters away. The two immediately went back inside the side door, closed it, and then vomited violently on the spot. Not only was the pig demon's act of eating the believer disgusting, but the sight of it eating while suffering from diarrhea was also too gruesome to bear.

Before the fight even began, they were already having second thoughts; they really didn't want close contact with the pig demon. In the end, the woman in red was the most composed and reported the situation to command. Yu Yuan, not having been there in person, couldn't process or understand their descriptions, but simply informed the others that the pig demon was outside Workshop 4, and to avoid making any noise to prevent attracting it.

Liu He was the first to spot the evil spirit. He pointed ahead, and Sha Bi saw the evil spirit slip into the drawer through a crack, like a piece of paper rolled into a printer.

Sha Bi gestured for Liu He to stop, then pinched a drop of blood in his left hand and smeared it on the tip of the dagger before slowly approaching the drawer.

This is the drawer of the slaughtering station. It should have contained many small tools, such as brushes, flamethrowers, and various knives. Now, all of these have been removed, leaving only a metal drawer.

Suddenly, Silly Dagger pulled open the drawer, only to see a dark shadow slip away through the gap behind it. Silly Dagger crouched down, and the evil spirit escaped along the bottom of the drawer. Silly Dagger climbed over the slaughtering table to intercept the evil spirit, but the evil spirit was very cunning; it slipped back in, emerged from the drawer, and quickly ran away after landing.

Liu He was guarding the passage, holding an ancient-looking box in his hand. Upon seeing the evil spirit emerge, he immediately opened the box. Twelve pear blossom needles shot out, most of them striking the evil spirit. The evil spirit's soul was torn apart, and the pig demon, who had been resting, felt the pain and let out a high-pitched squeal.

Unfortunately, the pear blossom needles in Liu He's hand would fire as soon as they were opened, so it was impossible to apply blood beforehand.

The evil spirit's pair of scarlet eyes were hidden in the sink, which was located in the middle of the workshop and whose bottom was completely invisible due to the poor lighting.

Tiny fragments of black souls converged on the crimson eye from all directions, during which time the evil spirit was unable to move. However, the player faction was unaware of this situation.

The Iron-Clad Woman, having vomited up her bile, groped her way along the wall until she finally found a tap. Without a word, she turned it on and washed her face. After wiping her face with water, she saw a pair of blood-red eyes right in front of her, which terrified her so much that she screamed on the spot. Then, she quickly realized what was happening, looked around frantically, and cried out, "Where's my blood?"
The evil spirit is also anxious: Fragments, quick!

The woman in iron armor squeezed her left index finger hard, then used it to poke the evil spirit. The light was too dim, and she couldn't tell if it was bleeding. After poking for a while, she suddenly remembered that she had been poken in her right thumb.

But it was too late. After the fragments of the evil spirit gathered together, the evil spirit leaped out of the sink, its flat, black shadow taking off running. Suddenly, a black hand reached out from the darkness and grabbed the evil spirit by the neck. The evil spirit tried to struggle, but the hand tightened abruptly and pulled it away.

The black hand belonged to the Foolish Ghost. After grabbing the evil spirit, the Foolish Ghost bit down on the evil spirit's arm and ripped off half of it, chewing and swallowing it as it did so. The evil spirit, with its neck being pulled, struggled wildly and haphazardly, like a chicken being pulled by the neck.

The Iron-Clad Woman chased after them, and was instantly stunned when she saw the foolish ghost eating the evil spirit. What was that? Where were the humans?
With a loud squeal, the pig demon smashed through the brick wall. The pig demon had no interest in the silly ghost or any evil spirit; it immediately spotted the only human: the Iron-Clad Woman. However, the silly ghost was quite large, blocking the equally tall pig demon's path, and a fight was inevitable. In the ensuing screams, the pig demon lost an ear, but the silly ghost didn't fare much better; a large chunk of its left arm was bitten off, and the silly ghost immediately paled slightly. The pig demon charged forward, and both retreated two steps, but the silly ghost's figure became even fainter. If the fight continued, it was only a matter of time before the silly ghost's soul was annihilated.

In terms of combat power, the silly ghost is stronger, but the boar demon has strong resistance to attacks and regeneration ability, which can continuously deplete the silly ghost's power.

The fight between the pig and the ghost was quite loud, crashing into walls and sweeping across the table. Ding Shi and the others rushed over upon hearing the noise. Sha Bi had already put away the ghost, and seeing its condition, Sha Bi's heart bled. How many people would he have to kill, how many souls would he have to collect to heal its wounds?

Gunshots rang out, and a burst of blood erupted from the pig demon's head. But instead of falling as expected, its size shrank by two. The pig demon, which was originally more than 3 meters tall, was now only 3 meters tall, and its physique had also degenerated somewhat.

Ding Shi cursed, "Damn system, you dare to defy physics! I'll parade you through the streets tomorrow!" The second shot hit the pig demon in the chest, followed by the third and fourth shots. As the pig demon staggered backward, all six bullets in the revolver were fired, and the pig demon's height increased to 2.5 meters.

Ding Shi hurriedly reached for the bullets in his backpack. The pig demon howled and rushed forward. Ding Shi shouted urgently, "Red Clothes!"

The woman in red, who had been watching the battle from the sidelines, stamped her foot and finally drew her Star-Severing Sword to meet the attack. The thought that such a divine weapon's first opponent was a filthy pig filled her with revulsion. A cross-shaped slash cut into the pig demon's chest, but only grazed the flesh. At that moment, the sword's blade shimmered with starlight, emitting a dazzling light, and the cross-shaped slash blazed brightly, piercing through the pig demon's chest.

The two-meter-tall pig demon took off running, and the woman in red hurriedly shouted, "Stop it!"

"Iron Shirt!" The Iron Shirt girl was wearing a cloth shirt today, and she assumed a horse stance: "Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Then she was grabbed by the pig demon and thrown against the wall.

While the defense is enhanced, the weight remains unchanged. Like a stone and a diamond of the same volume, although the diamond can withstand a hammer blow, in terms of throwing, there is little difference between a diamond and a stone.

A vine sprouted from the ground and tied to the pig demon's left leg; it was a wood-type magic attack launched by Liu He.

"Good." Everyone saw it clearly; it was a case of using minimal force to overcome great strength, breaking the pig demon's balance by targeting a single point.

The next second, the vines were mercilessly snapped, and the pig demon fled without a second thought.

Good news: the pig demon is not invincible. Every time he is injured, his size shrinks, and his strength, explosiveness, and stamina decrease.

Bad news: Pig demons with some evil spirit souls are extremely difficult to kill.

This is the characteristic of the pig demon. It is not a carbon-based life form in the traditional sense. It can strengthen its body by eating humans, and it can shrink its body when attacked.

The essence of an evil spirit is a malevolent ghost, which is bound by the laws of Heaven and is therefore invincible. A pig demon possessing only half the soul of a malevolent ghost can be defeated by an evil spirit.

Yu Yuan: "The pig demon should have been near Workshop 5, but was lured to Workshop 4 by the troublemakers. I suggest we form a two-person team and go harass them too." As for how to harass them, you guys can discuss it.

Liu He: "Okay."

After ending the call, Liu He said, "Who's willing to come with me? The pig demon has already escaped to within a hundred meters and shouldn't be going back to Workshop Four on its own. Those who stay behind will continue searching for the evil spirit."

Seeing that everyone was acting on a whim, Ding Shi volunteered, saying, "Sha Bi and I will go."

Liu He asked, "Are you going?"

Ding Shi said, "Perhaps there are some jobs we are better at."

The woman in red asked, "What kind of job?"

"Murder." Silly Dagger drew his dagger, wanting to lick it to show his perversion, but then thought better of it. Silly Dagger said, "Ding Shi and I are true serial killers."

Ding Shi scoffed: "You're the serial killer. I'm a cop, I kill trash."

Stupid Dagger: "Tch, you're a cop now? When you blew me up, where was your sense of duty as a cop?"

Ding Shi: "You reap what you sow. If you hadn't wiped my records clean, would I have gone to die with you? If you don't give me a way out, then nobody will live."

Liu He smoothed things over, saying, "Alright, alright, let's go."

……

Ding Shi made a feint attack, using a pistol to attract the attention of the believers in Workshop 5, while Sha Bi took the opportunity to sneak into Workshop 5.

Ita has added a lot of fancy features, but after going through multiple dungeons, the class skills are still very mediocre. What makes mediocre class skills shine are items and skill cards.

For example, the Red Robe's Cross Slash might not even be able to cut through pigskin without the Star Severing Sword, but with the Star Severing Sword, it can pierce through pork chops. Ding Shi's pure Force profession has been greatly improved, but his pistol and Wildcat Crossbow are still his trump cards. Sha Bi's demonic power has been fully formed, but it requires preparation before summoning and will suffer a backlash after summoning, greatly reducing the practicality of the demonic power.

At least for now, the world of Ita is still a world of items. Human abilities in reality can still greatly influence the outcome of battles.

As an unpopular member of a traditional assassin family, Silly Dagger's assassination skills are undeniable, but limited by his tools, his most powerful weapons are only his dagger and his brain.

After snapping a believer's neck, Sha Bi dragged the body away, dressed it in believer's clothes, and began a full-scale hunt.

The three main combatants among the believers, armed with pistols and bows, are engaged in trench warfare to the east and at Ding Shi. Most of the NPC believers maintain their honesty and friendliness, showing no suspicion that an assassin has infiltrated their group.

The Foolish Dagger, wielding a dagger, killed five believers as easily as slicing vegetables. While killing the sixth believer, he was discovered by another believer. Before the believer could warn him, the Foolish Dagger declared that the believer he had killed was a traitor and then threw a police badge to the other believer. Enraged, the believer kicked the corpse and was then killed by the Foolish Dagger.

In Yu Yuan's words, while the NPCs currently exhibit human-like behavior, their thought processes are still inferior to those of players. Furthermore, only a few NPCs display individuality, with most maintaining the same thought patterns. Yu Yuan wasn't sure if this was intentional on the part of the system, or if Ita's limits had been reached.

(End of this chapter)