Chapter Twenty: The Traitor

“Little sister!?” Qin Changsheng and Cao Mengmeng almost shouted in unison.

Wu Yutong turned out to be Xifeng Lie’s sister, something they had never anticipated before.

“B-but… her surname is Wu, and yours is Xi. How could she possibly be your sister?!” The sudden revelation threw Qin Changsheng’s mind into chaos, making his words stammer.

“Xifeng Lie is my online alias,” Xifeng Lie scratched his head, slightly troubled. “My real surname is also Wu, and Wu Yutong really is my sister. Before you came back, she contacted me on her phone and asked me to come rescue her. You know how much I value privacy, so I didn’t tell you…”

“At a time like this, you still bring up privacy?” Before Xifeng Lie could finish, an angry Cao Mengmeng interrupted. “Why didn’t you tell me such an important thing earlier?”

This piece of information instantly overturned all of Cao Mengmeng’s previous deductions. If the hallucinations weren’t caused by Wu Yutong, then who else could it be?

“It was me.”

Just as everyone was sinking into deeper confusion, a voice suddenly came from the rubble beneath their feet.

Amidst another violent tremor, Xifeng Lie reacted quickly and dodged away from the debris. Then, a sharp “crack” sounded in the air as two silver, blade-like objects suddenly burst out from beneath the ruins!

Those two objects looked like single-edged swords. Qin Changsheng had never seen them before. Who was it this time emerging from below?

As the two blades broke through the earth, a somewhat overweight figure struggled to climb out from the opened underground chamber. The face that appeared was beyond everyone’s expectations.

“Yu… Yu Gonglian?” Xifeng Lie’s voice trembled, unprepared for this reality. “How could it be you?!”

Before them stood Yu Gonglian—the chubby fellow who had been trailing behind Xifeng Lie when they first met.

“This can’t be…” Qin Changsheng was shocked. “Weren’t you attacked by Xifeng Lie earlier? I clearly saw you lying on the ground covered in blood!”

“That’s not the point,” Cao Mengmeng’s expression grew complicated. “The real question is, don’t you actually lack any Shanhaishou at all?”

“It’s simple.” Yu Gonglian finally stood upright, running his hand through his messy hair and sweeping it back. “The answer is, I lied to you about both.”

When they first met, this chubby guy had such a weak presence that Qin Changsheng barely remembered him.

But now, the expression on Yu Gonglian’s face was strangely terrifying. Beneath that plump figure seemed to hide a violent soul releasing lethal intent all around.

“Luckily, I secretly collected some human blood from a corpse earlier. I just poured it on the ground, pretended to be half-dead, and you all fell for it—so naive!” Yu Gonglian smirked disdainfully like a wolf who had just pulled off a cunning plan.

“You were dragging your feet when we went to rescue Wu Yutong? So this is what you were doing?” Xifeng Lie suddenly realized. “But what about the Shanhaishou? Why couldn’t we sense any from you?”

“Probably an illusion,” before Yu Gonglian could answer, Cao Mengmeng had already guessed. “His Shanhaishou can trap us in hallucinations, so naturally it can manipulate our senses to prevent us from detecting it.”

“Hahaha, as expected from the smartest one among you, you guessed it all right,” Yu Gonglian laughed maniacally, his demeanor wildly different from before. “Too bad, if it weren’t for one of you lunatics causing the building to collapse, you’d never have realized I have a Shanhaishou until you died.”

“I originally thought this time I could get rid of all three of you once and for all, but unexpectedly, the toughest ones all survived,” Yu Gonglian shook his head in disappointment. “Well, at least you took down the Popcorn Hero for me, clearing out a competitor.”

“Why?” Qin Changsheng asked, unable to believe that what Yu Gonglian said was true. “Aren’t you guys teammates? Why would you kill each other?”

This was also the burning question in Cao Mengmeng and Xifeng Lie’s minds.

“Teammates?” Yu Gonglian repeated the word with a puzzling expression. “What teammates? We’re just online friends who met today. Do you really think we’re some loving, harmonious family? Don’t disgust me!”

“Don’t you get it? This is a life-or-death game. To survive, you have to be ruthless! We have Shanhaishou, powers beyond ordinary humans. The best way to stay alive is to hunt down those powerless mortals.”

Yu Gonglian’s voice grew sharper with anger. “But you saints keep thinking about saving people and searching for survivors… what a waste of power! You don’t deserve the strength you have!”

“I’m going on a massacre next, killing all mortals without Shanhaishou. As for you ability users who get in my way, you’ll all die here!”

Facing this near-mad Yu Gonglian, Qin Changsheng found himself speechless. A heavy weight pressed down on his heart, suffocating him.

Something was seriously wrong. In Qin Changsheng’s eyes, Yu Gonglian’s mind had completely snapped. Was he even human anymore?

“Yu Gonglian…” Xifeng Lie’s face darkened as he stood opposite him. Though his voice was low, the barely contained fury was palpable. “You bastard… what a joke! Your actions don’t deserve that online name!”

“Do you think this is some anime or a game?” Yu Gonglian sneered. “Wake up, you giant baby — this is reality!”

Without hesitation, Xifeng Lie’s sword spirit Longyuan let out a dragon-like screech, hundreds of sharp swords activated at once, rushing toward Yu Gonglian.

“Wait, Lie, don’t be impulsive! That guy still has tricks!” Cao Mengmeng immediately sensed something was off. Yu Gonglian’s words were clearly meant to provoke Xifeng Lie.

Before her warning could reach Xifeng Lie, Yu Gonglian grinned savagely and made his move.

“Fool! You’ve never seen my Shanhaishou, thinking I’m weaker than you?” Yu Gonglian laughed. “Let me fix your pig brain!”

“Awaken, Clip!”

At Yu Gonglian’s command, the two single-edged blades floating in the air suddenly opened eyes on their hilts, twitching in a disgusting manner.

The blades flew in front of Yu Gonglian’s eyes, their hilts crossing and merging into a gigantic pair of scissors!

This was Yu Gonglian’s Shanhaishou—a scissor demon!

But Qin Changsheng couldn’t understand what the scissors could do. Even if they were larger than normal scissors, against Yu Gonglian’s hundreds of swords, they clearly stood no chance.

Unless…

“He’s about to create another illusion!” Qin Changsheng realized instantly. Yu Gonglian wasn’t trying to defeat Xifeng Lie head-on but wanted to lure him close and then unleash hallucinations again.

“Too late!” Yu Gonglian smiled triumphantly. In his view, Xifeng Lie had already stepped into the effective range of his power. “Cognitive Cut!”

Suddenly, Qin Changsheng saw a glowing thread extend from Xifeng Lie’s body, connecting to the blade edge of the scissors in Yu Gonglian’s hands.

Yu Gonglian gripped the scissor handles, his face twisted into a victorious, maniacal grin. With force, he was about to sever the glowing thread in one cut.

It was too late! Xifeng Lie’s sword stabbed swiftly, but not fast enough to strike Yu Gonglian before the scissors closed.

Qin Changsheng and Cao Mengmeng, standing far below the rubble, were helpless.

Was everything about to repeat? Were they doomed to fall into hallucinations of mutual slaughter again?

At this critical moment, Yu Gonglian suddenly stopped the scissors’ movement.

Why? Qin Changsheng frowned. Xifeng Lie’s sword hadn’t struck yet; why did Yu Gonglian choose to pause? Could it be a sudden pang of conscience?

No! Qin Changsheng noticed that Yu Gonglian’s expression had changed without anyone realizing. The triumphant grin was gone, replaced by sheer terror.

He was afraid! Utter, profound fear was etched on Yu Gonglian’s face!

But what was he afraid of?

Qin Changsheng’s gaze dropped down to Yu Gonglian’s feet and finally discovered the answer.

A pale hand emerged from beneath the rubble, gripping Yu Gonglian’s ankle tightly.

Yu Gonglian’s trembling lips parted, whispering three words: “No… way…”

“He’s still alive!?”

Who? Qin Changsheng’s mind raced. Who was still alive?

The next moment, a fierce burst of fire exploded beneath Yu Gonglian. A roar followed, delayed by a fraction of a second.

Boom!

The massive fireball detonated atop the ruins, the blast wind knocking everyone to the ground.

Qin Changsheng’s back slammed violently into a nearby rock formation, sending unbearable pain through him as he let out a cry.

He collapsed, the shockwave causing stars to dance before his eyes, blurring his vision.

A strange scent drifted through the air, mingling with the iron-rusty smell of blood.

He knew this smell well — it was the scent of human flesh popping like popcorn.

He lifted his head to look at the top of the ruins, where the high ground had changed hands for the third time.

The smoke from the blast had not yet settled, but standing at the center was a figure Qin Changsheng recognized well.

There stood the silent Popcorn Hero, wearing an expressionless emoji mask!