Chapter Thirty-Three: Annihilation Is the Only End (1/4)

In Liu Mengchao's eyes, the human heart is the most uncontrollable thing—it is like a relentless train, rumbling toward its destination. Thinking one can stop its progress through careful planning is mere self-deception, and the result is what lies before her now: Liu Li.

On the screen, Liu Li's chest is awash in blood, bubbling forth in a steady stream.

“How much it resembles a spring,” she mused.

Liu Li struggled to turn, glaring furiously at Li Yang, who had stabbed him from behind.

“You actually dared to betray me!”

“Idiot,” Liu Mengchao inwardly sneered at Liu Li’s surprised face. “This is the outcome of your attempt to manipulate others. Did you really think he’d follow you like a dog, obediently picking up your scraps and then thanking you for it?”

This was the result: a deadly stab from behind, followed by the bitter realization that his carefully laid plans, like fireworks, were extinguished before they could even bloom.

“I did not betray you!” Li Yang’s gaze was resolute, filled with excitement. Finally, he had achieved what he’d always wanted.

To protect Zhang Qingqing! To keep her from being violated by this scum. She was Li Yang’s goddess, his everything.

The so-called human heart cannot be controlled, only diverted. Liu Mengchao never changes a person’s true thoughts; instead, he plants the tiniest seed, lets it grow wild like weeds, until it overtakes the entire psyche.

Take Li Yang, for instance.

“Don’t look at me like that!” Li Yang thrust his knife forcefully into Liu Li, twisting it with fury. Blood erupted from Liu Li’s mouth, staining his lips with crimson froth.

“You…” Liu Li coughed, furious, unable to comprehend how this docile, timid man—who’d always seemed like a loyal dog—could betray him at the last moment.

“I…” Liu Li struggled to rise, clutching his chest, but blood flowed disobediently through his fingers, staining his clothes a mocking, playful red.

“Are you indignant? Confused?” Liu Mengchao noticed that as Liu Li drew closer to Li Yang, the two stars representing them shone ever brighter, reflecting the turmoil in their hearts.

The prize pool also faithfully mirrored the scene.

Prize pool: 45,000.

“Question him, then die with disbelief and anger etched upon your face.”

Leaning back, Liu Mengchao delivered the final sentence to this sudden vendetta. He had done nothing—only ignited the faintest spark in Li Yang’s heart, providing fertile ground for it to flourish until it consumed him entirely. All it took was an unguarded word from Liu Li to set the wild weeds ablaze.

“You don’t know why I killed you!?” Li Yang crouched, gazing down at Liu Li for the first time from above—a thrill that intensified his resolve.

To protect Zhang Qingqing! To safeguard his goddess, lest he never again taste such glorious, wondrous moments.

“I know… you want… to…” Liu Li raised a trembling finger toward Zhang Qingqing, standing at a distance. “To… that woman…”

“Smack!”

Li Yang unhesitatingly stomped on Liu Li’s face, his previously round features contorting into a terrifying mask.

“I won’t let you insult her!”

“Insult…?”

Liu Li’s eyes widened in disbelief at the man before him—no, at the dog he once knew.

“That woman…”

Unable to hold back, Liu Li laughed, a pained, hellish sound as blood poured from his features.

“Open your dog eyes wide and look at Qingqing!” Li Yang, overcome with emotion, seized Liu Li’s collar and shook him violently. “Look! Look!”

Unable to restrain himself further, Li Yang twisted Liu Li’s head at a strange angle, forcing him to see.

“See, Qingqing is such a wonderful girl—she’s crying for you, for this scum! She’s our teammate, our goddess; how could you treat her so?”

The suffocating sensation rendered Liu Li deaf to Li Yang’s words. All he saw was the woman called goddess.

Zhang Qingqing.

She stood to the side, innocent-eyed, watching the drama unfold, tears brimming in her eyes. Her brows furrowed, lips faintly upturned.

What was she smug about? Did she think he would simply die like this? That she could survive now?

Liu Li wanted to scream, his chest roiling with anger and resentment.

“You…”

The chubby Li Yang continued his manic tirade.

“You should never have—never, ever—treated Qingqing like a commodity, tossed aside at will!”

“Splurt!”

With that, Li Yang raised his knife again, stabbing down hard, giving Liu Li no chance to speak. Blood splattered across Li Yang’s face, sending his inner turmoil into frenzy.

“All of you! You’re all the same!”

Another stab, another howl of fury.

“You dared to trample Qingqing! She must never, ever—”

Crunch!

Li Yang carved a deep gash into Liu Li’s chest with all his might.

“Must never be defiled!”

“Hah… hah…” Liu Li felt his entire body go cold. At last, regret exploded within him.

“I… from the very beginning… made one fatal mistake…”

“That’s right! Apologize to Qingqing, you scum!”

“I should never have…”

Summoning his last ounce of strength, Liu Li stared fiercely at Li Yang, whose foot pressed upon him.

“Tried to feed you… this dog…”

Crunch…

Unable to hold back, Li Yang dragged his knife across Liu Li’s neck, ending the life of the man who had sullied his goddess.

Liu Li’s eyes fell silent; his last words broke apart with a bubble of blood at his throat, never to be spoken.

“All of you will die at Liu Mengchao’s hand!”

This curse vanished like Zhang Qingqing’s tears—so false that it disappeared before even being uttered.

With Liu Li’s death, Bai Ya’s notification rang in Liu Mengchao’s ear.

“Detected: main god world player Liu Li deceased.
Current survivors: three.
Time remaining until the end of the main god’s task ‘Day at School’: 1 hour, 50 minutes, 39 seconds.”

Hearing Bai Ya’s announcement, Liu Mengchao shook his head, knowing that none of the three would survive this world.

The script had been written for them long ago, without their knowledge.

Total annihilation was the only ending.

Liu Mengchao smiled, drawing toward him Li Yang’s shooting star from afar. The star that once belonged to Liu Li, floating nearby, had fallen silently, leaving no trace—save for the prize pool, a testament to Liu Li’s despair, struggle, and wrath.

Prize pool: 60,000.

“You’re next,” Liu Mengchao whispered to the screen, where Li Yang’s face was radiant with happiness. “Enjoy these last moments.”

On screen, Li Yang was covered in Liu Li’s blood, yet his face glowed with excitement and joy, his hand unconsciously twisting the knife.

All because his goddess, Zhang Qingqing, was finally his—just a few steps away.

“Qingqing…”

Li Yang laughed dryly, wiping the blood from his clothes as he walked toward his dream.

“I’ll protect you, no matter what happens—I’ll always protect you!”

You’ve gone mad!

Fear, malice, and resolve brewed slowly in Zhang Qingqing’s eyes.

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The eruption has begun~ And then…
Just thinking about the end of the Spring Festival holiday brings a strange sadness. No, please don’t let it end.