This bug is amazing!

Chapter 235 Hell-Level Dungeon: Divine Descent (7.2k)

Zhang Tianyi, standing before them, was clearly at the SS level. With his combat prowess, he could easily destroy a medium-sized city in just a few minutes.

Ji Yi didn't know if she could have such high stats at this level; it seemed too far off for her now.

"Now, who will judge whom? The Death Note is no longer of any use to me."

Besides the increase in strength, Zhang Tianyi's appearance has also changed drastically. His body is covered with bizarre flesh and tentacles, but for some unknown reason, he looks to be in good mental condition and has not gone mad like the corrupted people.

"hehe."

Ji Yi just sneered.

"To be honest, even in your current state, you're still not good enough in my eyes."

Ji Yi regained his original voice, and his appearance changed rapidly at that moment, revealing his true face.

At this moment, a look of astonishment appeared on Zhang Tianyi's face. This person was not Zui Wan Gu Hong, but he seemed very familiar. Was there a senior member of the Hunter's Alliance who had told him that he had to capture this person?

But where did he get this "senior from the Headhunter Alliance"? Hasn't he always been a lone wolf?
I always feel like something is missing from my memories.

At this moment, Ji Yi revealed her true form and smiled provocatively:
"I always felt that it wasn't worth wasting one of my mythical items on you."

Looking at the [Nascent Soul Stage Experience Card] in his inventory, it seemed to be the only thing Ji Yi could use to change the current crisis.

But it's really not worth it.

The real mastermind behind it all, Pi An, is Ji Yi's true target.

In Ji Yi's view, even if he wins this battle using the [Nascent Soul Stage Experience Card], he still won't be able to handle the mess afterwards.

As long as Pian lives in this world, the crisis in this world will never be eliminated.

After his covert confrontation with Pian, Ji Yi forced Pian to "flip the table." This aroused Pian's suspicion and wariness, making it impossible for Ji Yi to ever catch this cunning old swindler.

If you absolutely have to play a match, aiming to neither win nor lose...
Not to mention that the aftershocks of the battle would be enough to kill one's own teammates, in the end, this game has no winners, a situation that no one will be satisfied with.

It was already a lose-lose-lose situation.

But Ji Yi still has a way!

He took out the Death Note and finished writing the name he had previously written, but was missing the last stroke.

"Didn't I tell you? The Death Note is useless against me now. Why don't you believe me?"

Zhang Tianyi froze halfway through his sentence.

Because the name on that notebook wasn't Zhang Tianyi's, but rather...
"Ji Yi".

[Skill activated: Death Rewind]

[Effect: Within the dungeon, when you face death, you will be able to rewind, but the rewind time is random, and it can only be used twice per dungeon session.]

This was the gold item that Ji Yi obtained by fusing four useless skills, making it one of the luckiest lottery experiences of her life.

"But then again, don't fucking make me go back to the last second before I died, or I'll never forgive you."

Ji Yi died under the astonished gazes of the crowd.

[Begin backtracking.]

The scene before my eyes is constantly rewinding.

The scenes flashed by like a movie rewinding, rapidly rewinding and creating a dreamlike effect. Although Ji Yi's perspective flickered constantly, he couldn't control his body and could only let time flow backward.

It seems the time won't be randomly assigned too close, which puts Ji Yi at ease; otherwise, the skill would have been wasted.

Death regression is not a meaningless repetition of the past, but rather a journey back in time with a vast amount of information and an absolute information advantage, in order to seek a more perfect solution.

"The seal of the ancient gods, the whereabouts of the mist maiden, Pian's conspiracy, and the candidate for the god of deception."

Ji Yi muttered to himself, seemingly having devised a more perfect solution.
Backtracking successful

[Entering the instance]

[Instance Name: Divine Descent]

[Number of players in the instance.]

When Ji Yi opened her eyes, she was greeted by a CG scene.

In ancient times, the azure star was rich in spiritual energy, and cultivators were everywhere, with many powerful figures emerging.

The scene features many men and women dressed in ancient costumes, as well as a magnificent palace standing in the sky.

No, where does this come from?
Isn't this the opening cinematic of the dungeon?!

But everything changed when the extraterrestrial demons descended.

[It wasn't until the last powerful being on Azure Star emerged, and Hua Linghan, the Palace Master of Cloud Mist Palace, attained True Immortal status, that the disaster was finally brought to a halt.]

Ji Yi had already seen the scene before her once, and this time, she didn't find anything new.

As the scene descended underground, an indescribable monster glared at Ji Yi.

Are you looking at me? I'm looking at you, though!
Ji Yi glared back at it.

[Thanks to this data-driven eye, your sanity value, which should have been zero, has been exempted again. Wait, why did I say "again"?]

Sorry, just kidding.

I was reborn with my memories intact. In this life, I am destined to reclaim everything that is rightfully mine.

Too lazy to look at the data analysis and entertain herself, Ji Yi silently waited for the screen to end.

Finally, after the cutscene ended, a notification sound indicating that the main quest had been refreshed was heard.

[Task 1: The Spark]

The four tasks were no different from the last one, but when it came to the last two tasks that seemed a bit off, the system's voice changed just like it had last time.

This time, Ji Yi realized that it was all Pi An's doing.

He has grasped some fragments of the rules, which allows him to intervene in the system to a certain extent.

However, the effects are generally quite limited. The power that Pi'an bestowed upon Zhang Tianyi mainly came from the clever coordination of Zhang Tianyi's state of mind.

Ji Yi saw it clearly just now: Pian stole part of the [Time Gate]'s power and temporarily transferred the power that the ancient god originally leaked to the island world to Zhang Tianyi.

Pian himself doesn't have the ability to elevate someone to SS rank, and even if he could, he wouldn't be able to do so.

As the voice broadcast ended, Ji Yi opened her eyes.

The sofa was still soft beneath me, and the aroma of coffee filled the air.

'Something's wrong.'

Ji Yi noticed that this time was different from the last time. The field of vision was significantly larger, and even without doing anything, he could clearly see the scenery within a two-kilometer radius.

'Is mental energy preserved?'

That makes sense. The soul determines mental strength. Ji Yi retained her memories when she went back in time, which means she returned with her soul. Therefore, the mental strength she had worked so hard to cultivate was also retained.

'But.'

Ji Yi looked at the talismans she had bought from Zhuge Dengpao in her backpack.
What the hell is going on?!

[Hehe, you're mistaken. It's not just about bringing your soul back; it also preserves your "game data" from before the time travel.]

Some things, once used, are simply discarded; the system might not want you to encounter certain bugs.

Seeing this, Ji Yi seemed to understand somewhat.

Suppose he has a rare life-saving item, uses it at some point, and then regrets it.

If he simply commits suicide and reverts to a previous state, reloading the save file and dealing with the predicament again with the information gap, wouldn't the items be preserved?

'But I feel there's still a problem with this approach.'

Ji Yi looked at the missing Logout button and the newly added Yin-Yang Cradle in her inventory and began to ponder.

The logout button should have disappeared from the timeline. Zhuge Dengpao hasn't even entered the game yet, so it's impossible for a logout button to suddenly appear on him.

But Miss Cat gave him the Yin-Yang Cradle in another timeline, and he did receive it. So wouldn't she also have a [Rotten Cradle] now?
That's right. It's fair to say that rolling back data has both advantages and disadvantages. Simply put, if you "lose" more, a rollback is a loss; if you "gain" more, a rollback is a gain.

For example, right now, you've used up your "NPC Console" skill uses, and you can no longer control the Old God.

Theoretically speaking, most cases of forced death and rollback occur when players have run out of options, so the skill design is not excessive.

On the other hand, the temporary abilities and items you acquire will not be rolled back; "Death Rewind" will first perform a "settlement" before reverting to the previous state.

Overall, I believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages; after all, the two of us combined are invincible.

'Ok'

Ji Yi fell into deep thought, her mind a jumble of thoughts.

Overall, he did profit from this pullback, and he knew that.
But not only is the [Cradle of Decay] on Miss Cat gone, it's also gone.

How come she's wearing the Time Wristwatch?
Why did her data also revert to its previous state?!

Inside a private booth in the coffee shop, Miss Cat was glaring at Ji Yi with her dead fish eyes.

Logically, after using [Death Rewind], only Ji Yi will retain the data and intelligence and return to the past.

Miss Cat's current situation is very strange.

Let's give her a try.

"Hey, hey, hey? Did you go stupid after being glared at by the ancient god?"

Ji Yi raised her hand and waved it in front of Miss Cat. This time, the other girl reacted differently. Her eyes gradually brightened, and her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something.

Ji Yi skipped over some unimportant details and went straight to the point:

"Waaaaah! Miss Cat! You died so unjustly!"

He rushed forward, buried his face in her chest, and rubbed his nose and tears from side to side.

Miss Cat: "."

"Mr. Ji, this time you're just trying to take advantage of me, aren't you?"

Ji Yi paused abruptly, looked up, and awkwardly gazed at Miss Cat:
"Haha, so you were reborn too? You secretly bound yourself to the protagonist system without telling your buddies?"

Seeing that Miss Cat's reaction was not right, Ji Yi saw no need to test her anymore and directly questioned her.

He found it strange; Miss Cat didn't have any death rewind ability.
At this moment, Xie Jiayi fell into thought, silently recalling information about an item.

【Name: Eternal Diamond Ring】

[Bound by: Ji Yi & Cilantro-Free]

[Effect 1 "Shared Fate": You and the other person on the wedding ring become intertwined in fate, and you see each other as one in certain situations.]

That's probably why she was able to go back in time with Ji Yi.

A diamond ring binds souls; even if the accounts are different, the fates of two people are inextricably linked.

What is this? Am I supposed to spend my whole life like this?

No, that's not the point right now. How am I supposed to explain this to Ji Yi?

I am cilantro. Because our souls are bound together, this phenomenon has occurred. Now your tool and your sweetheart have become one, and you can have a hardworking and devoted wife!
Hmm. That's ridiculous.

However, Xie Jiayi quickly found a seemingly reasonable explanation:

"It might be due to the [Twin Jade] that this is the result of our two being bound together."

Upon hearing this, Ji Yi let out a soft "hmm" and stroked her chin:
"Yeah, that makes sense."

After all, there was no other explanation. The Twin Jade is divided into two pieces, Yin and Yang, with one piece for each person. With this item, one can summon the other.

They had both used it once. Ji Yi helped Miss Cat pass the [Pseudo-Human] dungeon, and Miss Cat helped herself pass the [Yang Yang] dungeon. In a way, they each saved the other's life.

This perfect-grade little thing has this function. It seems that you can't just look at the grade of an item. Look at the low-quality [Mask of the Faceless], isn't it a god-tier item?
After thinking it over, Ji Yi quickly accepted this premise.

There's no time to dwell on that right now. Since we can no longer control the Ancient Gods, the difficulty of the dungeon has essentially returned to its original level.

But now he's even more confident in clearing the game.

"What should we do now? Mr. Giba must have some ideas now, right?"

"Hehe, of course. Kitten, you can lean on my shoulder."

"."

Miss Cat was speechless, that's for sure, now only he has the strategy for a perfect victory.

After all, he holds multiple world records in gaming, so his skill level is undeniable.

"Waiter, I'd like to cancel this order. These two coffees look terrible, they're disgusting. I'm not drinking them."

Soon, Ji Yi left the coffee shop with Miss Cat. This time, they did not choose to slaughter, but left directly.

Since neither of us drank any coffee, there was no argument.

"Mr. Giba, where are we going now?"

Once on the street, Ji Yi didn't act immediately, but instead looked around, lost in thought.

“Miss Cat, my plan is very long and complicated, and it involves a lot of information that you haven’t encountered before. I wasn’t originally planning to tell you, but since we’ve been through thick and thin together, and you’ve brought your memories back with you, then…”

"Let's find a hotel to stay in first, and then we can have a proper talk."

Miss Cat gave Ji Yi a strange look: "Mr. Ji, are you trying to release some stress again?"

Ji Yi: "."

Half an hour later, the two found a secluded hotel in town that wasn't doing well and barged into an empty room that no one was staying in.

The two of them didn't turn on the lights. If the electricity meter was found to have a problem and the boss came up to check, they would inevitably be disturbed.

The dimly lit room was illuminated only by the neon lights outside the window, which cast their glow upon Ji Yi's handsome face.

'When he's not a loser, he's actually quite handsome,' Xie Jiayi thought to herself.

"Hey cat, you know, I'm so handsome, why does Miss Xie always play hard to get? Is she stringing me along while keeping me as a fish? I remember I had a lot of girls chasing after me in college."

As Ji Yi spoke, she touched her face with a touch of narcissism.

"."

He's not handsome anymore.

"Mr. Giba has been pursued by so many girls, how come he's still a virgin? Is it because he often peeks at girls' underwear?"

Hsieh Chia-yi retorted without changing her expression.

"Pah, what are you talking about? I didn't have X-ray vision back then!"

"You'll look at it once you have it?"

"Nonsense, only a fool wouldn't look if he had X-ray vision."

"."

Ji Yi treats Miss Cat like a buddy, and when he gets into a witty banter, he can be incredibly cheeky.

Do I really have to be soul-bound to him?

Hsieh Chia-yi held a grudge about this.

"I was so busy playing games in college that I didn't have time for dating. Let's get back to business."

Ji Yi straightened his expression and said:

"Let's start with the so-called mastermind. His name is Pian."

Ji Yi revealed the biggest secret of this dungeon, and it can be said that all the high-difficulty dungeon missions in this world are thanks to this Pian.

"The reason I reverted to the previous save file wasn't because I couldn't beat Zhang Tianyi. The more important reason is that we had already alerted him and made Pian very wary."

Miss Cat was very clever and quickly caught up with Ji Yi's train of thought:

"Are you planning to address the root cause and completely solve the problem? Are you confident you can kill him?"

Ji Yi chuckled: "Of course not."

Although Pian cannot use his powers, it doesn't mean that Pian will be at the mercy of others once Ji Yi finds him.

“But we can let this old swindler taste what it’s like to be swindled. I’m planning to design an even bigger scam. What do you think?”

Ji Yi began to reveal his plan.

The more Xie Jiayi listened, the more astonished she became. If this plan succeeded, Ji Yi's deception would be truly massive.

It's not just a matter of clearing dungeons; it could even have a significant chain reaction in the future.

"Even if you admire me, you shouldn't just stand there dumbfounded. What do you say about the plan?"

It was already past midnight when they started talking, and the neon lights outside the window had dimmed, making the atmosphere inside the room even more dim.

Miss Cat nodded and read aloud in a monotone tone:

“A very good plan. I am completely in awe of Mr. Giba. If I were a beautiful woman, I would really like to reward you by having you come to me for a visit.”

"Really? Actually, you can cover your face."

".roll."

In the latter half of the night, the two continued to discuss the details of the follow-up plan in depth, and only fell asleep near dawn.

Perhaps because the two were very close, in any case, when Ji Yi woke up again, she found that Miss Cat was lying in the same bed with her.

"That's strange. Didn't I sleep on the floor last night? Did I climb up here by myself?"

He turned his head to look at Miss Cat's face beside him.

It looks a bit ugly, let's cover it up.

A white cloth was placed over it.

Tonight is Christmas Eve. There will be no so-called coffee shop duo massacre, no radio ghost murder, and certainly no night sky flying man incident.

The world was peaceful and harmonious, showing no signs of what one would call a hellish dungeon.

Others may not know, but Brother Foot Win has probably racked his brains trying to figure it out.

When Xie Jiayi woke up, it was already afternoon.

Xie Jiayi lifted the white cloth covering her face in confusion, glanced at her watch, and then looked at Ji Yi sitting at the computer desk in the hotel:

"Did you post it?"

"Okay." Ji Yi nodded and opened a webpage.

The title simply stated:

"I want to join the Ancient Gods and participate in the glorious evolution. Does anyone know how?"

Seeing this, Xie Jiayi checked the taskbar again.

[Task Four: Redemption (Recommended). Join the Ancient Gods and become a member of the glorious evolution.]

"Are you sure Pian will fall for such a simple hook?"

Ji Yi chuckled: "Last time we were in the mist, even the Eye of Data couldn't see through to the outside. Pian has no reason to know that we participated in the sealed instance."

"To him, we are completely unknown and strangers. Miss Cat, do you know that to successfully deceive someone, you don't need to be smarter than them? As long as you have an advantage in information and your acting skills are a little bit better, it's easy to succeed."

Miss Cat nodded, as if she understood deeply.

That's strange. Is she also very experienced?

As she was thinking, Ji Yi noticed a red dot appearing on the webpage.

Ji Yi immediately clicked on it.

That was a reply from an ID named "Steadfast Believer":

"Bro, I have a solution. Want to chat privately?"

Main quest has been updated.

[Receive information about siding with the Ancient Gods from "the steadfast believers"]

"Look, here it comes!"

"."

Ji Yi immediately opened the private chat interface with the other party.

This IP address has been manipulated; I have no way to trace it back to its source.

The Data Eye popped up a message.

If you think you can meet Pian with this, you're underestimating him.

Pshaw, what does a mere data eye know? It only drags me down.

【.】

Ji Yi sat in front of the computer and began sending messages to the other party:
"You gave it to me so easily? You must be a scammer."

The other party replied instantly: "?"

"Dude, don't worry, you won't have to spend a single penny of game currency, and we won't sell your body or kidneys."

"The main thing is that I see you are truly dedicated to your faith, and preaching is a good deed, you don't ask for anything else."

These words are spoken very sincerely and simply. Of course, the words themselves are not particularly credible. The more important thing is the system task prompt.

Even if the system tells you that this is the right path, how many people will choose to question it?

Ji Yi, however, still looked unconvinced and typed in the chat box:

“I’ve been scammed before, and I’m afraid of being scammed again.”

"How to say?"

"He and I are from the same hometown, both from a very far place. Well, that's not the point."

"The key point is that he seems to have a strange ability to deceive people about more personal things, such as appearance, voice, talent, etc., which is very strange. And because he can show his face under different identities every time, it is impossible to guard against his deception."

"He's incredibly skilled; his deception techniques have improved remarkably quickly. I estimate that they've evolved to a terrifying level now, making it difficult for anyone to see through his lies."

When Ji Yi sent this text over.

Silence fell on the other end of the computer, whether the person was processing information or thinking about something was unclear.

Ji Yi knew that she had deliberately brought up this topic, even to the point of being overly deliberate.

But Pian could never help but be curious.

The successor of the God of Deception has had his identity erased by Ji Yi.

Although that person used the method of changing their identity to save their life early on, they will most likely be able to "resurrect" in the future.

But at least that person has been forgotten by everyone, so the lie Ji Yi told is absolutely impossible to verify.

And Pian couldn't possibly be uninterested in the successor of the god of deception.

He was the one most eager to play the "new crown prince" to prove himself and regain power, which was far more attractive than destroying a planet.

However, this can also impair his judgment and reduce his sensitivity to his own crises.

Sometimes, a scam doesn't need to be particularly sophisticated; it's about hitting the right spot that piques the other person's interest.

Does the fact that a repressed online novelist was scammed by a female streamer necessarily mean he wasn't smart enough?

A content creator on a certain platform had hundreds of thousands of yuan in savings swindled away by a so-called "big shot" under the guise of investment. Was it because he wasn't capable enough?
Mastering information asymmetry and understanding people's hearts are the keys to successful scams.

"Why are you suddenly bringing this up? Do you think I'm that kind of person? Besides, you described him as so powerful, yet he still let you go even though you knew his secret. That means he's nothing special."

Feigning doubt to confirm information.

Pian really couldn't keep his composure; even knowing there might be a problem, he still fell for it.

No, rather than saying he lacks composure, it's more accurate to say he's confident enough in his abilities to be so unreserved.

There is no danger to a single player, and there is indeed no need to treat them as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

At this point, Ji Yi knew it was time to gauge the situation and began to use a strategy of retreating to advance:

"It's all tears when I talk about it. I almost got PTSD, which is why I'm so paranoid. Sorry, brother."

Ji Yi didn't intend to bring up the matter again, but instead returned to the main topic:

"Let's get serious. Can you tell me first what the 'benefits' of believing in ancient gods are?"

Ji Yi displayed the demeanor of an ordinary player.

It's important to understand that Zhang Tianyi wanted to summon the ancient god because he thought he could profit from it. Pian's deception, a blend of reality and illusion, had even previously altered the development direction of the Headhunter Alliance.

This success was achieved by leveraging the characteristics of the players.

"Hehe, of course there are. But aren't you afraid of being scammed in something that offers profits without any investment?"

Hey, you can't get around it now, can you?

Ji Yi chuckled: "This Pi An's mental fortitude is lacking."

Meanwhile, somewhere on the Azure Star.

Pian sat in front of the computer, using it like an ordinary person. His appearance was unremarkable; he was the kind of person who would be completely inconspicuous in a crowd.

Moreover, perhaps due to some unknown magic, his face is also difficult to remember.

"Heh, is this a challenge from the 'Little Prince'? He even left a 'victim' in the dungeon."

Pian sneered.

In his view, those chosen by the god of deception must be wise enough to be like him, so how could they possibly leave any loose ends when they're lying?

This tail was left on purpose, and it's full of provocation.

During this time, Pian could not find any information about this "mysterious candidate," as if the fraudulent chosen one had never existed.

But that's impossible, since the God of Deception is also involved in the game.

So this mysterious candidate, who has kept the information so perfectly hidden for so long, is now deliberately casting a victim here to expose his whereabouts.

It's as if to say:
I know you're looking for me, wanting to replace me. Too bad you're too incompetent; you can't even catch a glimpse of me.

"Now I'll give you a chance. This person was a clue I deliberately planted. You want to challenge me? Then I'll let you have your way."

Arrogant, so incredibly arrogant.

It's like a perfect criminal who has never been able to file a case for any of his murders, and finally can't help but challenge the police station.

Pian imagined the other person as an arrogant, extremely conceited, and intelligent individual.

Before anyone knew it, the cold smile on Pian's lips gradually turned into a hint of jealous anger.

But this feeling quickly disappeared without anyone noticing.

He began to extract information from the victim, word by word.

More intelligence information was then revealed on the screen:
"His scams weren't perfect in the early days. That's when I met him. And because he could steal other people's names—I don't know what they're called now—but I know his real name. I'm sure it was his name. Back then, we were all pretty weak. No, we were both pretty weak."

"You want to know his name? Okay, let me think... it seems to be..."

"Chicken Leg Immortal Venerable, yes, let's call him Chicken Leg Immortal Venerable!"

(End of this chapter)