Am I going to be controlled by the players too?

"How is this possible..."

He stared at his hands in disbelief, but Cheng Cheng did not stop. With a final strike, the sword plunged deep into his chest.

"Sizzle—!"

The sound of flesh being torn apart was clearly audible. Cicero instantly lost all his strength, collapsing limply along the blade, spitting out a mouthful of blood from his chest.

"Cough...cough..."

He struggled to stand up, only to find that his chest cavity was shattered, his lungs were filled with blood, and even breathing became difficult.

Cheng Cheng walked up to him, clutching his side, and looked down at him.

He was inevitably struck by a sword during the battle, and his strength was rapidly drained away with the blood, but he was far from being seriously injured.

"ended."

"wait wait wait……"

The girl in front of him tilted her head slightly: "Oh? Want to beg for mercy? Too bad you're dead."

“It’s not a plea for mercy… Death is not frightening; death is like a cool summer night, allowing one to sleep peacefully without worry.” Cicero struggled to raise his wrist, trying to plug the hole in his chest. “But, Sylvia de Claire, you, you listen to me… The kingdom is corrupt, and you, possessing such power, should not continue to follow that false god…”

"Oh, go on."

Cheng Cheng nodded, wondering if the boss was about to die and was going to become an NPC to explain the world's lore.

“Let me tell you a secret, a secret the kingdom will never let you know… The Amber God you worship has long been corrupted by the ‘Greedy Demon’ sealed within him. The faith of the Builders’ Church has also been distorted. They and the nobles no longer see the preservation of civilization as their responsibility, but instead exploit everyone…” Cicero spoke with his last breath, “Only the primordial demons can descend and destroy their ugly order, reshaping all evil…”

"Oh." Cheng Cheng nodded.

I get it now, you guys are just a bunch of Adventists like those in "The Three-Body Problem".

If even our own people call it a demon god, what good thing could it be?

“My sister, Hannah, just because she couldn’t repay a single student loan from the church, suffered a financial collapse and was forced to lose everything, ending up selling herself on the streets… cough cough, she contracted an illness and became addicted to drugs,” Cicero’s eyes flashed with an inextinguishable regret, “It’s all my fault, I came back too late… When I retired from the kingdom’s army and rushed to the church, all I saw was her cold body…”

"Heh, that's when the church will pretend to offer her end-of-life care."

"Oh," Cheng Cheng nodded, "The kill threshold, right? That's pretty low. And then what?"

“You…aren’t you a faithful believer?” Cicero asked, somewhat surprised. “After hearing what I’ve said, don’t you feel your faith crumbling? Don’t you feel betrayed?”

"Um, actually it felt alright?"

Cheng Cheng scratched his head. Sylvia in his mind had been rendered speechless by the other party's actions, but he felt nothing.

It's not like I've been betrayed three times, so what's the rush?

Only stories of the caliber of Manyo, who blocked Thor's sword, the Great Tree King forgotten by the world, Funina, who never stops dancing alone, and the captain of the Fools' Enforcers who brings heroes home... can make him truly emotional and bring tears to the eyes of this tough man.

At this moment, Cicero's voice grew weaker and weaker, the light in his eyes gradually dimmed, but a smile appeared on his lips:

"Hahahaha! I knew I wasn't wrong. You were born a demon, yet you're hidden in the church's most trusted place... I have an Originium in my possession. If you want to join the Church of the Primordial God, take it with you to 13 Mingke Street. There will be someone there..."

Before he could finish speaking, his head lolled to the side, and he was completely lifeless.

Hmph, Demon Orb?

My fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens. Whether I am a demon or an immortal, only I can decide!

Cheng Cheng watched Cicero breathe his last with a blank expression, then began collecting the body without any emotional fluctuation.

There was indeed an Originium in my pocket, but it was taken away by the system the moment I got it, and the Originium in my backpack was successfully turned into two.

It seems it's not a quest item, but rather gold coins dropped after defeating monsters.

Cheng Cheng didn't take it seriously. Although he could use two Originium to draw cards in the beginner card pool, he had a bit of Originium obsession and wouldn't draw cards unless he had at least ten. He also didn't know what other ways there were to obtain Originium in this game.

Thinking to himself, he turned and walked toward the prison van, preparing to rescue the imprisoned children. An owl stood quietly on the van, curiously tilting its head to look behind him.

It's still raining.

The firelight flickered.

The white-haired girl, carrying a long sword, walked step by step toward the survivors. The bloodstains on her silver hair were washed away by the rain, leaving dark red watermarks on the ground.

The children huddled in the prison van, looking at her with a mixture of awe and adoration.

"Don't be afraid," Cheng Cheng said softly. "You're safe now."

"Thank you... thank you..."

A little boy said timidly.

Cheng Cheng nodded and was about to unlock the prison van—

"Click".

A strange noise came from behind.

Cheng Cheng froze. He slowly turned his head and looked at the charred remains hanging on the gallows. The grammar teacher's body, which should have been dead, was now... twitching.

"Crack...knock..."

The charred fingers bent one by one, and the head slowly rose, revealing a face burned beyond recognition.

Then--

It smiled.

"The past...is...the future..."

A distorted sound was squeezed out of the charred throat, as if countless people were speaking at the same time:

"The...master...reappears!"

Chapter 5, which can certainly be used next time...

"Wait, there's a hidden boss in this first level?"

The grammar teacher's charred corpse continued to swell, and beneath his blackened skin, scalding magma flowed like blood.

Cheng Cheng was completely stunned. He had seen final bosses transform after death, but he had never seen an opening NPC's corpse come back to life.

"Mr. Mambo, run!" Sylvia's terrified voice screamed in his mind, "We...we are no match for this thing!"

"Huh?" Cheng Cheng frowned, but his hands didn't stop. He grabbed his training sword and rushed forward. "Why are you running? I'll go check out the moves first."

With that, a flash of sword light severed the charred head.

That's it?

That nonsensical thing went and sat at the same table as Louis XVI.

Before Cheng Cheng could utter a sound, his head rolled to the ground. Instead of spurting blood from the severed neck, billowing black smoke rose from it. From within the smoke, a new, equally charred head regrowed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

“It’s useless…” Coke let out a hollow laugh, “I am immortal…”

Cheng Cheng kicked it over, stepped on its chest, and pressed the tip of his sword against its new head: "Let me see if you can live again?"

"Click".

The charcoal-like creature's limbs twisted at bizarre angles, coiling around Cheng Cheng's legs like a spider.

"Holy crap!" Cheng Cheng tried to pull his leg away, but found he couldn't move. "It's controlled but I'm not losing health. What kind of weird mechanism is this?"

"This is a demon!" Sylvia's voice was filled with shock and doubt. "It was taught in elementary school textbooks. Mr. Mambo, haven't you ever been to school?"

"I'm a sports student, I've read even less books than Grandpa Ding!" Cheng Cheng cursed. "All the knowledge I've gained in this life depends on Old Mi developing the brain-computer interface. Then we can just use the knowledge we've been given. How could I possibly understand these things!"

Although Professor Li Wenya has developed a brain-computer interface, it is ultimately a plagiarism of Professor Sun Xiaochuan's research results and can only be used for virtual reality; it cannot be used to implant knowledge into the brain.

Besides, I've never studied in this game world.

"Mr. Mambo, what are you saying? I don't understand anything."

"That's how we gods talk... That's not important. Tell me quickly, what is this thing, and what's its origin?"

"Oh, demons feed on human emotions and are divided into four levels: primordial, lord, superior, and inferior. For example, the demon gods worshipped by the Primordial God Cult refer to the nine primordial demons standing in the deepest part of the abyss."

"Legend has it that a thousand years ago, demons descended from the abyss. They did not come to rule, dominate, or invade, but only to hunt, until the Amber God..."

"jump over."

"Huh?" Sylvia was slightly taken aback.

"Are you planning to start from the Big Bang?" Cheng Cheng said irritably as he forcefully chopped at the demon's arm. "Speak human language, how do you fight this thing, how strong is it?"

“Uh, this, this should only be a lower-level demon, requiring a team of six Silver-rank experts to defeat,” Sylvia explained quickly. “The bishop we just killed was probably only at the initial Silver-rank level.”

Cheng Cheng's heart sank.

One Cicero would have been enough to kill him more than twenty times, yet he's only a loli at best in the Silver Rank?

And this demon is stronger than six, its prestige comparable to the Nanfu Battery and the "Voice of the Players" award for "Yuanshen".

How do we fight this?

“Each demon corresponds to a ‘concept.’ The more people fear that concept, the stronger the demon becomes. To kill them, you need to exploit their corresponding weaknesses…”

Before Sylvia could finish speaking, the charred body suddenly expanded, black smoke exploded, and Cheng Cheng was thrown away.

As the smoke dissipated, a humanoid creature over three meters tall, engulfed in black flames, stood in the center of the altar. It had no facial features, only a constantly shifting vortex of flames on its face, from which a distorted voice emanated:

"I am the demon of burning at the stake, dear lady, please allow me to express my deepest gratitude to you."

Cheng Cheng got up from the ground, dusted himself off, and said, "Thank me?"

"Of course, thank you for offering such a lavish sacrifice for my arrival." It seemed somewhat proud, extending its burning finger to point at the corpses of the cultists scattered on the ground, "Blood, death, fear... and the soul of a Silver-rank expert. It was you who completed this ritual."

As it spoke, it began to introduce itself: "Five hundred years ago, I was a high-ranking demon, feared by all... Until the burning at the stake was abolished, I was also forced into the cycle of death. If it weren't for the occasional unauthorized burning at the stake, perhaps I would have already left this world because no one feared me..."

“Now that your sacrificial ritual has allowed me to return in the name of this corpse, and I am no longer worried about death, I naturally have to thank you.”

Oh my god! I've seen this episode before!

To fall into a state of stagnation, to leave this world, to feign a return, to disregard death... Is the name of your trick—Zhongli's Feigned Death?

Wow, that's interesting. There's even a battle of wits segment!

However, you dared to plagiarize "Yuanshen," and you will have to pay the price!

Zhongli: The heavens and earth are in turmoil! Wendy: Don't even think about escaping! Thunder General: This is the time of annihilation!

"What the hell are you thinking..." The Demon of Fire tilted his head, "Why am I feeling such intense emotions?"

"Uh... cough cough, it's nothing, you're welcome. I'll be going now?"