“You don’t have to take me with you.”
Gao Ming’s wounds opened as he lay on the deer’s back. The blood pattern on his body flowed about as if it was really trying to create a treasure. The divine light in his body had entirely disappeared. Every inch of his skin was taken over by the tattoo. Gao Ming had fully combined with the blood city.
“How am I supposed to show myself in the city in the future? Other than the haunted house, I doubt anyone will dare to hire me.” Gao Ming tried to distract himself because once he stopped thinking, his consciousness would be dragged into the tattoo. The endless city really ‘revived’ through his body. There were death portraits and horrible shadows everywhere!
The faces of the death stared coldly at him. The shadows left behind by the ghosts swept past him. Each building was stained with blood. Gao Ming couldn’t avoid it. The Blood City tattoo was on his body. He was the only living human in the dead city. He was also the city’s only witness and listener.
“I’m looking for the truth, but the truth is getting scarier and scarier.” Gao Ming noticed something. As everyone’s desire poured into his heart, the sealed room in his heart changed too. Based on the thoughts of the crowd, it mimicked the blood city’s appearance. Gao Ming shivered. He had no idea why he thought this way, but he had a strong feeling the dead city was about to ‘revive’ via his body. Because of Gao Ming’s belief, the room in his heart transformed faster. The lock on the door cracked further as more voices entered his ears.
“Come back!”
“Gao Ming! The investigation centre has set a trap. Our headquarters at the supermarket has been destroyed. The headquarters has started hunting all the horror game players in the city!”
“The black mist approaches. Our home has been swallowed! Mother and father are gone!”
“Gao Ming, take care of our last pictures. That is our final hope!”
“The shadow world and the real world are overlapping! The investigation centre’s headquarters hides Han Hai’s strongest Dream Ghost!”“Han De Private Academy has disappeared into the mist! The headmistress’ eyes have been dug away! Gao Ming, can you hear the voices of the children? Where are you?”
The voices morphed into icy needles. They shot into Gao Ming’s ears. Gao Ming tried to stop them but he couldn’t.
“I wish to help you, but I cannot return now. Not for now…” Gao Ming mumbled to himself. His body was like a puzzle, barely held together by the God of Flesh and Blood.
“Gao Ming, I am your kindness. Listen to me! The bliss you experience in real life is a trap by fate. There is intense malice behind every present! Do not believe them! Do not fall!”
“Haha! Don’t listen to them. They call you Gao Ming, but is Gao Ming your real name? Is there a real Gao Ming?”
“The reality is the cause, and the nightmare is the effect. The answer you’re looking for is not in the nightmare but in the real world.”
“I’ve killed you so many times. I know you better than you know yourself. Do not return to Han Hai! You have to find your real name in the real world!”
Covering his ears was pointless, so Gao Ming had to learn to get used to the voices. His condition was worse than that of a paranoid patient. Gao Ming adjusted his breathing. He stopped arguing with the voices in his heart until everything became silent. The blood coagulated. Gao Ming’s physical wounds became better. He glanced at the deer. The hooves leapt over the stream and landed on the ground. The deer entered an immortal forest.
Gao Ming had no idea where the deer was taking him. The water became louder, and the foliage more verdant. The fragrance of flowers filled up the air. This place contained peace that eluded Dream Break Town. The deer suddenly stopped. Perhaps it was tired.
“Why did we stop?”
The deer with bloodshot eyes dug at the soil with its hooves. Gao Ming could hear someone talking in the distance. The deer knelt on the ground. The bushes covered it and Gao Ming. At that moment, a tree near them was cut down.
The tree canopy was like a large umbrella. As the trunk fell, Gao Ming’s line of sight opened up. He saw a waterfall splashing down from the divine palace. It was very impressive. The ripples and mists it created covered more than ten metres. Even though they were enemies, Gao Ming was impressed by this view. The waterfall was like the bridge that connected heaven and earth.
“I’ve refined nine children and found this immortal path. None of you have sacrificed anything, and you wish to speak on my level?!” The white leaves fluttered down. Gao Ming narrowed his eyes. This was Elder Tang’s voice!
He finally caught up to the Gods from Dream Break Town. Gao Ming looked around but couldn’t spot Elder Tang. The old man was very cautious.
“Who hasn’t sacrificed themselves to reach this eighth floor? Don’t be too boorish. Now is not the time to fight among ourselves. When we take over the Soul Temple, we can split it.” The unfamiliar voice came from the ground. The soil appeared to be its body.
“The thirteen methods of ascension have their own pros and cons. We haven’t figured out which one is the best. How about we use this opportunity to clarify that? The first to step into the ninth floor will claim the divine palace.” The wind carried a divine aura. A woman hid in the clouds.
Voices came from all sides, but no actual figures could be seen. After they were done speaking, everything on the eighth floor started to change. Human faces appeared on the trees, and the leaves turned into paper money. The fruit clanged like copper coins. The stream turned red and black. The water reeds spread as hair.
The birds in the sky carried intestines. The chirping bugs turned into broken fingers. The animals in the forest scratched their bodies until they bled and rotted.
“Is this entire floor manifested by the Gods and Ghosts? Has their power assimilated with the nine-story soul temple? Or are they trying to work together to take down the soul temple?” The situation didn’t look great. The deer became anxious. Perhaps it had taken Gao Ming’s blood. It didn’t mutate. It only knelt on the ground with a shivering body.
The trembling of the ground became more obvious. The Gods tested one another and shed their disguises. They were ready to start the last battle to ascend to the divine palace.
Even though Gao Ming hadn’t missed the opportunity to ascend, he was late to the eighth floor. The Gods had already segregated the eighth floor among themselves. The only thing Gao Ming had was a deer that couldn’t stop shivering.