I've already said this isn't a life simulator!

After all, the wounds on your body have mostly healed, so telling others wouldn't be very convincing.

However, Father Enrique seemed quite concerned about this matter. Under his and Alicia's joint questioning, you truthfully revealed your peculiar "trait." After learning the truth, Father Enrique stared at you for a while with a look that seemed to be both delighted and pitying, and finally told you in a very firm tone that he would definitely help you.

Both you and Alicia are puzzled, but you still hope that Father Enrique can save the other children still there first, and if possible, restore the church to its original state.

After hearing your words, he seemed even more certain of his idea. The pity in his eyes deepened, and there was even a hint of inexplicable guilt. It seemed like he still had something to say to you, but unfortunately, the time for conversation had already passed.

[For the next few days, he would come to visit you every day with Alicia, learning the details from you while telling you about the results of their recent efforts—he had found some clues that convinced him that behind the church's current state lay a deeper darkness and misfortune, and that there might even be a clear "industrial chain" emerging.]

Father Enrique was furious when he guessed this. As a devout believer, he was horrified that someone was using the church and chapels to commit such heinous acts. It was a violation of his faith, and the fact that the priests and nuns in the church were even accomplices only fueled his anger.

Unfortunately, he only found clues, and all of these were just his own guesses without any substantial evidence. The nuns in the church were also behaving themselves, leaving him with no way to proceed. He could only continue to look for other methods—such as reporting it to the church.

However, the church's response was ambiguous. Despite it being a major event concerning the church's reputation, it did not receive the attention it deserved... This gave Father Henry a bad feeling.

But this was not a reason for him to give up; on the contrary, Father Enrique became even more determined to continue his exploration.

He used his connections to investigate the matter and tried his best to make things a little better for you while you were still in prison.

You've witnessed everything he's done, and he truly is a reliable and trustworthy "adult." Therefore, you've gradually lowered your guard around him. If it weren't for the priest's truly outrageous behavior, you wouldn't be willing to harbor such intense resentment towards others.

Of course, you haven't forgotten that all of this was brought about by Alicia. If she hadn't coincidentally met Father Henry and told him the truth about the church, Father Henry would probably have been misled by the published information.

Not to mention, she's also helping you in her own unique way—just like before, every conversation with her is always full of joy and happiness, which allows you to briefly forget the coldness of reality.

She is still telling you in her own way—don't give up, keep hope, things will definitely work out.

You understand, and gladly accept her blessings and encouragement.

Alicia is becoming more and more important to you.

But reality often falls short of expectations, or rather, you've forgotten that you're facing a massive force capable of making the police station and church in a small town serve it, and even directly replacing the police chief within a certain timeframe—a force powerful enough to establish a complete "crime industry chain."

How could such a powerful interest group allow you to conduct your investigation so smoothly?

As expected, after a brief period of smooth investigation, Father Enrique encountered unprecedented resistance. The other side seemed to have realized what was happening and was prepared accordingly.

[First and foremost is Father Henry the Priest. As a renowned priest, he has forged friendships with many people, forming his "network." However, now, his friends seem to have received some warnings, showing reluctance or even making excuses when faced with his request for help. Although most will still choose to help, they clearly won't, and can't, go all out to help.]

Father Henry the Priest keenly sensed the crisis, and the sorrow on his face grew heavier each day, but he was not prepared to give up—his faith would not allow him to ignore such evil.

Of course, he also admitted that if the church hadn't given him warnings and subtle help, he probably would have had to undergo a period of spiritual torment first.

As for Alicia, when Father Enrique realized something was amiss, he entrusted her to the care of a trustworthy person. Not only that, he planned to place you in a safer prison to prevent those guys from seizing the opportunity. In the meantime, he could also focus on helping you overturn your case and get you out.

Unfortunately, he didn't get to see you.

After the investigation into Father Enrique was completed, you, who caused the incident, will naturally not be spared either.

You were inexplicably taken out of your original prison and then handed over to a group of strange people.

[Later you found out that you had been "sold," and that they had used you and other juvenile delinquents like you as "expendable resources" in a deal with another organization.]

[It was a well-known assassin organization that had left its mark on both political and business circles, and had served as the covert blade for certain important figures. They possessed a highly systematic training method and special means to ensure the loyalty of their assassins, which is why they were trusted by powerful figures.]

Of course, even the most powerful figures are wary of this organization, as they never know when they might be targeted with an exorbitant bounty and assassinated by its killers.

This is a "knife" that everyone can use, everyone wants to own, and everyone fears.

It doesn't have a name yet, but in the future, it will have a name that most people will remember and hate—the poisonous pupa.

Chapter Eight: To survive, that's all.

"It's...a similar place again..."

Looking around, Xi Wang lowered her eyes and murmured to herself.

The enclosed room was illuminated only by a pale white light. Although the room was relatively spacious and all of this was just a normal indoor scene, the fact that the entire room was locked up still made Xi Wang feel extremely uncomfortable. In addition, the blades casually placed not far away made Xi Wang almost have a stress reaction.

Xi Wang looked around. Besides his group of juvenile delinquents, there were some elderly people, some homeless people, some girls, and some people who didn't look like good people at all... To be honest, Xi Wang felt like he was experiencing phantom pain again, or maybe his wounds hadn't healed yet.

"Everything's here, we can begin."

A processed electronic voice rang out in the empty room, as if someone outside was issuing commands.

Then someone helped remove the restraints from your bodies. Except for a few who didn't look like good people, the handcuffs of everyone else were removed.

Although they were no longer bound, and the strange people who brought them here had all left, no one dared to move rashly. Everyone was somewhat frightened by this place, and thus appeared reserved. However, a few people occasionally glanced at the blades not far away.

"Now, everyone, please feel free to do whatever you want. Of course, as always, only one person can come out at a time."

The electronic voice sounded again, uttering a string of ambiguous but clearly dangerous words before falling silent.

There was no reason, no explanation; all that was left for you was a message, an empty room, weapons lying around carelessly, dimming lights, and a locked door.

The silent competition... no, it should be called a bloodbath, began just like that.

The first to act were a middle-aged man who looked like a homeless person and several juvenile delinquents beside you. They may not know what was going on, but they knew that in this situation, getting a weapon to protect themselves was the most important thing.

Next to take action were several girls and an old man. They were clearly aware of this as well, and they purposefully tried to stop the first group and attempted to take the blades.

You and the rest of the people remained where you were, looking bewildered or panicked, seemingly still not quite understanding the situation.

Finally, there were the few who didn't look like good people. With a few crisp "clang" sounds, these people unlocked their handcuffs at some point and then rushed towards the first few people to act at an extremely fast speed, or rather—their weapons.

"got it!"

The first to get a weapon was a boy. Perhaps because of his own preference, or perhaps because he believed that "an inch longer is an inch stronger", he picked up a long knife without hesitation. The moment he got the first weapon, and the one he liked the most, he cheered with joy.

However, just as he turned around to threaten and force the others away with his weapon, a burly figure appeared in front of him—the last group to act had already arrived!

He grabbed the boy's hands holding the knife, twisted them to the side, pushed them upwards, and pulled them outwards. The sharp blade sliced ​​open the boy's throat, taking his life.

Then, he took the long knife from the boy's hand, picked up the boy who was still breathing, threw him to the side, knocking down the homeless man who was trying to grab the weapon, and then swung the knife at the group of people who had arrived.

The others who arrived later had obviously anticipated this as well. Some dodged, while others grabbed the people next to them to use as shields. They then quickly crouched down, lunged forward, rolled, and when they got up again, they had a weapon in their hands and started fighting back against the man.

Somewhat unexpectedly, it was those of you who seemed not to understand the situation and did not take action who were safe, while those who tried to seize the weapons were injured... or even killed, because of those who were fighting.

Their attacks were highly purposeful, entirely aimed at killing. When those people used others as human shields, they intentionally positioned the "shields" in easily fatal positions to block the blows, causing the earlier attackers to lie on the ground groaning in pain, their breaths gradually weakening, and they were on the verge of death.

They were there entirely to reduce the number of people present—Xi Wang realized this.

We finally managed to leave that place, but now we've ended up in an even worse place?

Xi Wang looked somewhat confused.

If you're talking about a priest's prison where you only have to endure pain without worrying about your life, and you can even live a normal life if you're willing to give up your dignity... then this is simply a gladiatorial arena.

Only the last survivor can leave... The door will only open when only one person remains... At that moment, those of you who haven't moved will realize what the electronic voice meant.

Some people panicked and wanted to go forward to pick up the weapons that had been kicked into the corner, but looking at the people who were fighting fiercely, they didn't know what to do and could only pace around anxiously.

Some people went crazy, screaming and crying, not knowing why they suddenly came here, not knowing why they had to suffer this, even though they hadn't done anything.

Some people tried to take action, thinking of using the immobile people on the ground as shields, and mustered up the courage to drag the corpses, moving carefully to get the weapons in the corner, but they were quickly discovered and then casually and carelessly killed by those people.

Some people simply bury their heads in the sand like ostriches, burying themselves among the piles of corpses, trembling and muttering to themselves, hypnotizing themselves that it was all a nightmare... and then, with a sharp pain, they fall into an eternal dream.

Really, it was very casual. In their eyes, we were all "things" that could be disposed of at will, to the point that they assumed there was no possibility of us being picked off. They believed that even if we fought to the death, they could take care of the rest of us directly—because those who would act first and take weapons would be dealt with in advance.

As for the rest of you, you're just clueless guys who're panicking and completely lost.

That's certainly true.

Xi Wang... felt lost.

Is this how the world is?

The stench of blood in the room grew stronger, mixed with some strange smells; perhaps some people had lost control.

But Xi Wang had gotten used to it. He had already experienced enough of that thick smell of blood in that torture-filled prison.

He was just... confused.

We finally made it through...

They finally managed to escape...

Even if... I'm stuck in prison forever... it would be better...

Why...why is this happening?

No one stepped forward anymore—because those who did were all dead.

No one wanted to take action anymore—because there was no room for resistance.

He huddled in the corner, his eyes unfocused, letting fear linger in his heart as he awaited death.

They were then drawn into the conflict as its scope expanded, and were subsequently killed at will.

The clanging of metal continued; they ignored the few remaining people, as if you were really insignificant.

"........."

Xi Wang wanted to speak, but didn't know how to make a sound.

It's impossible to dissuade someone from fighting, since he doesn't have that ability.

Looking at the messy corpse, he hesitated for a moment, then lay on the ground in a daze, trembling and carefully moving forward, as if he wanted to do something.

He grabbed a corpse at the very edge of the struggle.

Xi Wang could feel that the moment he touched the corpse, an almost instinctive sense of danger from the "weapon" rose from the bottom of his heart. He subconsciously pulled the corpse back a step, causing the blade that was attacking him to miss.

"?"

He seemed somewhat taken aback, not expecting this inexplicable guy to be able to dodge. However, he quickly lost interest in Xi Wang, this variable, and the moment he revealed this brief opening, the others' attacks came at him.

He could only click his tongue, dodging the attack while simultaneously kicking Xi Wang away.

"Cough cough..."

The immense force made Xi Wang feel a sweet taste in her throat, as if her internal organs had shifted, and she even felt that if the force were any greater, she might faint from the pain.

Fortunately, Xiwang adapted quickly... it was just a little more painful than the priest's torture.

Even after being kicked away, Xi Wang did not let go of the corpse. In this way, he dragged the corpse to a slightly quieter corner of the room.

This is the corpse of a boy. He didn't move at first, just like Xi Wang, seemingly unaware of the situation. Later, he tried to use the corpse as cover to pick up a weapon, but failed.

Xi Wang tidied his clothes a little to make him look neater, and then laid him flat in the corner.

Then Xi Wang dragged back several more corpses using a similar method. Each time, he narrowly avoided the deadly blades. Although he would be hit once or twice each time, and his wounds would increase, and he was almost trampled on and left there several times, he miraculously survived.

Xi Wang dragged the body back but didn't loot anything. He simply tidied the clothes and laid it flat next to the other corpses.