This bug is amazing!

Chapter 301 Shadow's Hometown Evil Seed
Ying was dumbfounded.

Where did you get so many big shots from? You've only been playing games for a few months!

"Damn it, you tricked me! You were quite the actor. It should have been a sure win for me."

He has three SS-level Go spirits. If they go all out from the start and exchange pieces, Ji Yi will have a hard time turning the tide.

But Ji Yi had a trick up her sleeve and killed his SS-level Black King, and now the situation has instantly turned into a disadvantage.

After all, he only had one black rook that was SS-rank—the Stitching Ghost. His black king was SS-rank but his movement was limited and he could only defend himself. The quality of his other pieces was far inferior to Ji Yi's, making him easy to be surrounded by more pieces than he had. He would lose directly after fifty moves.

It's not that there's no chance of winning now, but the odds of success have definitely been greatly reduced.

Seeing that Ying was getting angry, Ji Yi had no choice but to smile apologetically.

"There's no other way. If I didn't use a little trick, how could I possibly defeat Lord Ying? You're too kind!"

"Come on! Be careful not to fall if you open champagne at halftime."

Ying frowned as she surveyed the chessboard, then carefully placed a piece.

The intense tension in the game has finally made this chess-playing idiot, who loves board games but is terrible at them, take it seriously.

Seeing that Ying had made a move after thinking it over, Ji Yi reacted quickly, directly making Misaki, who was the White Elephant, move one square to the side.

Seeing this, Ying fell into deep thought:
"Now that the elephant has protected the king, we need to figure out a way to carry out a decapitation strike, but we can't expose my other SS-level piece. Let's use a smokescreen to make him suspicious."

After some thought, Shadow also used a black elephant, but did not capture it directly.

What he wanted was to confuse the public and then set up an ambush.

What brought him success also brought him failure. Ji Yihou's numerous prescriptions might restrict the king's movement, giving him a chance to strike decisively.

Normally, since Ji Yi has already revealed the remaining chess spirits, there's no need for him to pretend anymore. His next move should be to set up a strong defense and give the king room to maneuver.

But Ji Yi's next move completely surprised Ying.

Misaki traversed half the chessboard, walking diagonally to the edge of the board, and ended up blocking the black rook.

That was Ying's only agile SS-level chess spirit, but now it was completely blocked by its own dark horse and the opponent's white elephant, unable to move.

How the hell are we supposed to fight then?!

Unless they move their own elephants and horses, the cart won't have room to go out. But wouldn't that expose their illegal operation and reveal their status as an unlicensed taxi?!
No, let's not talk about that now!
What was Ji Yi's motivation for playing chess like that?!
Ying looked at Ji Yi suspiciously:
"Hey kid, you don't have X-ray vision, do you?"

Ji Yi looked bewildered: "Huh?"

"It's nothing. Maybe I'm overthinking it."

Ying sighed at his bad luck and had no choice but to try to sneakily get out of the predicament.

But the further he went, the more uneasy he felt.

Whenever Ying tries to use his black car to take Ji Yi's piece, Ji Yi will send Misaki back to defend, either blocking the way or ensuring that Misaki will be taken after taking the piece.

But even at this point, Ying still held onto hope.

He felt that his team's advantage lay in the fact that the strength of the Go master had not been revealed. Compared to Ji Yi's open play, as long as they kept the information hidden, they could achieve a surprise victory.

But Ji Yi always seemed to have foresight, not only blocking his only strong piece, but also using a chess spirit that was relatively effective against Shadow whenever S-rank pieces were exchanged.

This led to the Shadow's disadvantages becoming increasingly greater, eventually reaching a point of no return.

Soon, both sides had made thirty moves, and Ying had half as many pieces as Ji Yi.

"Alright, there's no need to continue. It's not interesting to keep playing."

With a gloomy face, Ying slowly descended from the starry sky onto the chessboard.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, all the chess pieces disappeared.

“I concede defeat. Although I don’t know how you did it, I have to admit that you are indeed very cunning. Every move I made was within your expectations. This game is simply unplayable.”

[Hehe, I got praised, I'll get a little embarrassed.]

Ji Yi humbly replied, "It was just luck."

Ying spat, "Pah! There's definitely something strange about you, kid."

Upon hearing this, Ji Yi followed up by saying:

"Yes, there are still quite a few mysteries surrounding me. Now, Lord Shadow, are you willing to answer my questions?"

Upon hearing this, Ying's previously indignant expression immediately subsided, and she became much more solemn:
"Hmm, let's talk about this somewhere else."

"Snapped."

He snapped his fingers.

The scene changed instantly.

The chessboard disappeared, and the starry sky vanished, replaced by a villa living room filled with exotic charm.

This house, in terms of its structure, decoration, and materials, is completely different from the architectural style of any other civilization on Earth.

This is clearly an extraterrestrial civilization, not even within Earth's own universe, but rather a world of the same level but in a different dimension.

[This person, Ying, seems to have a story, but unfortunately, I can't give you more details right now.]

"Welcome to my home, or more precisely, my former home."

Ying had changed out of her sharp suit and into pajamas.

His original height of 2.3 meters has shrunk to less than 1.9 meters, and his face looks younger.

Ying casually leaned back on the main seat of the sofa, crossed her legs, and draped her arms over the back of the sofa.

"Sit wherever you like, don't be shy."

Ji Yi and Miss Cat exchanged a glance and sat down on the sofas on either side of each other.

"There's quite a lot to explain this time. Let me think, where should I begin?"

Ji Yi immediately followed up: "Let me first tell you about my internal condition. Is there any way to resolve or eliminate those effects?"

Ying simply shrugged:

"No way, impossible, unless you die."

Ji Yi: "."

"Alright, stop looking so grumpy. I didn't even give you a grumpy look when you beat me at chess. Let's have something to drink and chat."

As soon as he finished speaking, the cups on the coffee table in front of him made a gurgling sound as water flowed.

About five seconds later, the cup was filled with some kind of orange-yellow unidentified liquid, which looked rather strange.

Ji Yi frowned slightly, but the next second he saw the item information.

【Name: Energy-Boosting Fruit Drink】

[Type: consumables]

[Quality: Epic]

[Effect: Upon first consumption, it permanently increases Strength by 5 points. Before Strength reaches 1000 points, each 100ml consumed increases Strength by 3 points. After reaching 1000 points, each 100ml consumed increases Strength by 1 point. It has no effect on those with Strength exceeding 5000 points.]

Can it be taken out of the instance: No

[Note: One of the distinctive products of the Shenwu Star Civilization, it is a common beverage among the middle and upper classes.]

"I'm so awesome!"

Ji Yi drank the beverage in one gulp without hesitation.

But he quickly realized the problem. Because of his extreme speed stat allocation, he had hidden stats.

His current strength level is at least a few dozen, so drinking this beverage has no effect on him.

On the contrary, Miss Cat got the better deal.

"Lord Ying, I'm not one to hold grudges."

"But who are you trying to fob us off with such a small amount of tea? If Earthlings saw this, they'd think we can't afford it. How about another cup? No, another pot! One pot for each of us!"

Ying was stunned, clearly not expecting Ji Yi to react this way.

"You love drinking so much, okay then."

He took two 2L teapots and placed them on the coffee table.

Immediately afterwards, accompanied by a "glug-glug" sound, the teapot was soon full.

Seeing this, Ji Yi immediately put the tea spout to her mouth and blew on it.

"Gudong, gudong!"

Drinking a beverage somehow gives off the air of a strong man drinking wine from a large bowl.

Xie Jiayi watched coldly from the side, feeling a little ashamed of Ji Yi's spineless behavior.

She picked up her teacup and took a sip, then another, then another, and another.

She finished one glass, poured herself another, and took a sip.
Ying was stunned. "You invited me to my house so you could have self-service tea?"

"Cough cough."

He cleared his throat twice, looked at Ji Yi, and said in a deep voice:

"Actually, the fact that you are still alive is a miracle, or rather a coincidence."

Upon hearing this, Ji Yi put down the teapot she was holding and looked at Ying.

The shadow's voice continued:

"Your guesses are mostly correct. The evil energy within you is indeed related to the evil god, but that thing doesn't have a name yet, so let's just call it the 'evil seed' for now."

Ji Yi didn't rush to ask further questions, but listened attentively to Ying's words.

"The evil seed is a way for evil gods to select their successors. You are not the only one, but you may be the only one to survive, because this thing is something that no life or soul can bear."

"The expansion of evil seeds is limitless. Once the soul reaches a certain tolerance level, it will eventually mutate because it can no longer withstand it. Have you seen the movie 'Godzilla'?"

"Hmm, isn't that thing some kind of ancient behemoth?"

Ji Yi countered with a question.

"No, it is actually an example of being influenced by the evil seed, and eventually it couldn't withstand it and transformed into a monster that only knew how to destroy."

A monster that only knows how to destroy?
This description reminded Ji Yi of her experience transforming into the Destroyer.

Speaking of which, when faced with those monsters in the island nation, people's wishes were either for their children to become successful or to secretly peep into women's restrooms.

Ji Yi's only wish, however, is the bizarre desire to destroy the world.

It's likely that this was influenced by the evil species.

"Is the Evil Seed related to the factory I mentioned?"

Ji Yi couldn't help but press for more information.

"Yes, the evil seed originated from this; it was probably planted in you by your family. By the way, you should also know that the evil god has established sects in different parts of various universes, right? The main reason for the establishment of the evil god cult also stems from this."

Ying's words reminded Ji Yi of something.

There are indeed reports of an evil god cult in the Xia Kingdom of the Strange Tales World. Ji Yi even tricked the faceless person who was suspected to be the real Ye Changtian into going with the four members of the Yaksha Department to investigate.

It should be about time to get results, right?

Ying continued speaking:
"Generally speaking, evil seeds will inevitably lead to the destruction of people, because their only function is to absorb evil."

Ying's expression was very solemn:

"Whether it's one's own evil thoughts or the wicked intentions of others, the seed of evil is like an unlimited receiver, constantly gathering and accumulating 'bad things' from all directions."

"And people's thoughts and will will inevitably be affected in this process. Even the most upright and kind people will gradually lose their nature due to the expansion of their own evil intentions, become eccentric and violent, lose empathy, and completely transform into another person in terms of personality, ultimately leading to their destruction."

“Those who develop the symptoms a little earlier will be sentenced to death by law for committing crimes early on due to ‘antisocial personality disorder’.”

"A late onset is not a good thing. With the continuous accumulation of evil energy, a person is like a balloon that keeps expanding, and the evil seed, as the receiver, will not care about the life or death of the 'container'."

"The later your attack occurs, the more evil energy you absorb, and the greater the power of the final explosion. That's how Godzilla came to be. The record for the longest time that guy lasted is currently unbroken. That's how it works in your universe."

"Oh right. By the way, although your universe is named the observable universe by your people, among trillions of universes, your universe is more commonly known as Universe XH-GWSJ-JTXZ-013422."

Ji Yi's worldview was subjected to a cultural shock, leaving her utterly astonished.

Miss Cat sat to the side, barely noticeable, taking a sip of her drink, then another. She refilled it, then took another sip.
"I think I understand now. It seems to be because my constitution is a bit special. It separates the evil energy brought by the evil seed from my soul, allowing me to live a normal life for so many years."

"The so-called double negative makes a positive. Because of my own special nature, I have achieved a wonderful balance. But once I take the panacea, the evil seed may not be eliminated, and I will need to confront the evil thoughts in my body because of the problem of the harmony of the soul."

Ying nodded:

"I knew you were smart. Don't believe in the so-called panacea that claims to cure all diseases. Its effects are limited by the game version and are far from omnipotent."

Ji Yi could understand this.

In the current version of the game, the highest official rarity is set as Mythic, which is a consensus among players.

In this context, the panacea is described as being able to cure all diseases and injuries, but this is only true for the current version.

Ji Yi knew that after the Mythical level, there were the Restricted level and the Limit-Breaking level, and then many other grades were further divided.

If the version continues to be updated.

If a poison that exceeds the limits of its effectiveness were to appear, then this panacea would naturally be unable to cure it—an obvious problem.

Ji Yi continued to ask:

"How long can I maintain this seemingly stable state? Will it reach some kind of limit?"

“I don’t know.” Ying shook her head. “I don’t know your specific situation, so I can’t give you an answer. Who knows if you have a split soul or something else? There are too many reasons that can cause multiple souls in one body, even if you count them in hundreds.”

"all in all."

Ying concluded.

"You are quite good in terms of both ability and other aspects, and you have a good chance of inheriting the position of the evil god."

Hearing this, Ji Yi was not happy at all.

The mystery surrounding him was only half solved; there were still too many unknowns. He had no interest in the so-called position of evil god.

Looking at Miss Cat sitting opposite me, sipping her tea, I felt even more conflicted.

Is there a deity supporting her? If so, who is it, and why was she chosen?

It seemed that she had sensed Ji Yi's gaze.

Miss Cat stopped sipping her tea.

She pushed the remaining half-pot of beverage in front of Ji Yi:

"I really can't do anything with you. If you'd like to give me a foot massage, I'll give you this half-pot of drink, Mr. Giba."

(End of this chapter)