Chapter 46: Endgame
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Chapter 46: Endgame
When Aunty Zhang rushed up the stairs, Bai Xu stopped caring about Cao Qian. Her body, which Cao Qian was using all her strength to restrain, flailed around, unable to run upstairs. She gave a mournful howl and turned her head, her tongue stretching out to grab Aunty Zhang.
Her tongue was much stronger than Di Kuang's arms. Di Kuang's arms could only extend five meters at most, but her tongue had stretched out ten meters and was still growing longer.
Just as the tongue was about to pierce into the frantically running Aunty Zhang, a piano suddenly slammed onto the tongue with a thump.
Xing Ye had long since been prepared. Although he wasn't physically strong, he could support Cao Qian from afar.
Bai Xu realized she couldn't chase after Aunty Zhang until she defeated the two. She changed targets, tearing apart the piano with her tongue before retracting it and turning to Cao Qian. At this moment, Xing Ye shouted, "Release her, let her go upstairs!"
Although Cao Qian didn't understand why, she had complete trust in Xing Ye and quickly let go.
The instant Cao Qian let go, Bai Xu opened her mouth wide and bit fiercely at the air.
If Cao Qian hadn't let go in time, the bite would've ripped her head in half!
By now, Aunty Zhang had already reached the second floor. Bai Xu was very anxious and took the chance to run upstairs, ignoring the two.
Xing Ye shouted, "Hug her legs!"
Bai Xu was simply too fast. In a blink of an eye, she was already halfway up the second floor. However, Cao Qian, who was already staking it all, didn't lose in speed. Hearing Xing Ye's order, she dashed forward and hugged Bai Xu's legs, stopping her from going forward.
Xing Ye was fully aware that completely blocking Bai Xu was impossible. However, they also couldn't let Aunty Zhang take the landscape painting upstairs by herself.
The second floor had Guan Ling, and on the third floor, Di Kuang might've already crawled out from under the pianos. It'd be too dangerous for Aunty Zhang to go up alone, so they needed to escort her.
So the best strategy was to let Aunty Zhang run up one floor while they stalled Bai Xu, giving just enough time to ensure Bai Xu wouldn't be able to catch up to Aunty Zhang before rushing up, preventing Aunty Zhang from having to deal with both the other players and Bai Xu's attacks.
The only thing worth rejoicing over was that Hippity Hop Ping Pong Ball was still active, meaning Di Kuang's phone was basically useless.
With one of her thighs hugged, Bai Xu frantically used her other leg to kick Cao Qian. Cao Qian was ultimately still made of flesh. Although her strength and agility were boosted, her defense hadn't changed. She didn't have Di Kuang's copper skin, and was forced to vomit blood with two kicks from Bai Xu.
However, Cao Qian was staking it all. Bearing her injury, she managed to draw out her Hundred Shot Gun, accurately shooting Bai Xu's tongue.
The earlier attack with the piano showed that physical attacks were effective on this brain eating demon. She could feel pain, which would force her to slow down.
Sure enough, the gunshot made Bai Xu stop. Cao Qian seized the chance to jump up, ruthlessly landing a kick on Bai Xu's stomach. She put all her strength into this attack and unexpectedly kicked the brain-eating demon all the way down to the entrance of the first floor.
But with this, Cao Qian could also no longer hold on. Her back had been kicked broken by Bai Xu and her leg had a fracture. She could no longer fight.
With only the piano QR code as his means to attack, Xing Ye clenched his teeth. The moment Bai Xu was kicked down by Cao Qian, he summoned a piano, blocking Bai Xu.
After crushing her with the piano, Xing Ye didn't glance back as he carried Cao Qian up to the second floor. As he ran, he saw Guan Ling crawling up to the third floor in terror.
Bai Xu was already catching up and Cao Qian had already lost her fighting strength. The rumbling noises upstairs should be Di Kuang trying to lift the piano.
Xing Ye reached back and took the gun in Cao Qian's hand. There were still three bullets with 100% accuracy left. He aimed it at Bai Xu's blood red eyes and fired two shots, forcing Bai Xu to cover her eyes with a blood-curdling shriek.
The damage to her eyes heavily affected Bai Xu. Her tongue flew everywhere, breaking everything in its path.
They couldn't get hit by it. Xing Ye nimbly dodged as he carried Cao Qian upstairs and even dragged Guan Ling up in passing, preventing him from being hit by the tongue's attacks.
Xing Ye relied on his agility to run up, fighting to stall an extra minute for Aunty Zhang.
It was just a minute, but it was enough to change everything!
Bai Xu's eyes regenerated very quickly. Although she was under the influence of Peaceful Spirit's Tune, one minute was all it took for her to completely regain her sight. She loosened her hands, hatred growing in her eyes as she looked at Xing Ye. She pounced, aiming to bite off Xing Ye's head.
However, it was already too late. Those two final shots of Xing Ye's managed to buy just enough time to win over Liu Muqing.
A girl in a school uniform walked down the stairs, no longer a bloody head hopping around in a daze. She was clean and tidy, and holding the landscape painting in her hands.
Peaceful Spirit's Tune grew louder and louder, making Bai Xu's head hurt. She glared at Liu Muqing, her eyes filled with hatred.
"Stop standing there all high and mighty! Don't look down on me! Stop it!" She howled, "You were always better than me at everything! Why am I always stuck at second place, why did my painting lose, why?!"
"I'll tell you why." Liu Muqing wasn't afraid of Bai Xu in the slightest. She didn't have a corporal body to begin with, so Bai Xu's tongue could only pass through her body.
She walked up to Bai Xu and showed her the landscape painting. "Your Mona Lisa's Slight Smile was a futile attempt to copy a master's work. You wanted to win by drawing support from a famous piece. However, copying a famous painting without the equivalent skills would only highlight the disparity between you and the original painter. In the end, you just made a fool of yourself by slavishly copying others. You didn't have any of your own original ideas and just wanted to take a shortcut-- No wonder you lost!
"You think taking my brain would give you my talent? What a joke!"
Faced with Liu Muqing, Bai Xu had no attention to spare for Xing Ye and the rest.
Xing Ye took advantage of this to set Cao Qian on the halfway point between the second and third floors. He stepped on Guan Ling's wrist, not letting him use any QR codes as he aimed the gun at Guan Ling's head. "I know you can heal people- heal her!"
Without treatment, Cao Qian would really die. Although dying in game didn't equate to dying in real life, after paying so much, it'd be terrible if she just died without enjoying the taste of victory.
Guan Ling looked at Xing Ye's eyes. They were filled with killing intent- if he didn't heal Cao Qian, he would definitely be shot dead.
"If you save her, I'll give you a mission prop worth 2000 points. Otherwise, I'll give you a bullet."
"Save, save, I just need one of my hands to touch her." Guan Ling gulped.
His other hand was empty and his phone was kicked far away. Xing Ye watched attentively as he set his hand on Cao Qian's body. A white light spread from Guan Ling's fingers to Cao Qian's body, and after three seconds, the slowly dimming light in Cao Qian's eyes suddenly turned bright, jumping up like a carp.
Before she even had the chance to thank Xing Ye, Di Kuang came charging down the stairs. His whole body was covered in blood and his six arms were limp, like noodles. Enmity filled his eyes as he looked at Cao Qian, but Cao Qian's reaction speed was extremely fast, directly charging at Di Kuang with a taser.
With Di Kuang's copper skin ability, a gun was useless. Only electricity would still be effective.
Seeing Cao Qian rush forward, one of Di Kuang's limp arms suddenly moved, swiftly fishing his phone from his bag to activate a QR code. However, he didn't expect a ping pong ball to suddenly hit his wrist again, forcing him to drop his phone.
The luck value would forever be the bane of opposing fate players.
Hippity Hop Ping Pong Ball's range was actually limited to the third floor. They were halfway down the second floor, so the ping pong balls shouldn't have been able to hit him!
However, while Guan Ling was healing Cao Qian, Xing Ye had already reactivated Impression Eye and Redrawing Pen, drawing another ping pong ball QR code.
Earlier, he had heard the sounds of movement on the third floor and knew Di Kuang would soon get out, so naturally, he had to ensure the other's QR codes would be sealed as soon as possible.
The most important prerequisite for this fight was sealing Di Kuang's QR codes. He had extremely strong QR codes- the three Xing Ye had memorized earlier were all very powerful. If they used QR codes, there was no way for Xing Ye's side to win.
However, Di Kuang was an opposing fate player. With his luck value, even just the chance of the ping pong balls hitting his wrist was deadly.
If Di Kuang and Cao Qian fought without QR codes, with his heavy injuries, he was not an opponent for the freshly healed Cao Qian.
So Di Kuang shouted, "Guan Ling, heal me!"
Xing Ye's gun was still pressed against Guan Ling's forehead, so he could only wail, "Boss, I used my regeneration ability three times. It's on cooldown already, it can't be used for another 24 hours.
The third time was even used on Cao Qian.
Di Kuang shouted again, "Deng Chengshuang, are you done hiding on the fourth floor yet?!"
How could Mr. Deng come down? There was the human head and the brain eating demon, not to mention people as terrifying as Xing Ye, Cao Qian, and Di Kuang. He didn't want to get smashed by a piano, so he hugged the stairs, refusing to come down.
They could let Guan Ling and Mr. Deng go, but not Di Kuang. If he was alive, he would always pose a risk to Xing Ye and Cao Qian's victory.
Xing Ye had been observing the whole time while Cao Qian and Di Kuang were fighting, trying to find Di Kuang's weak point.
The ping pong balls kept obstructing Di Kuang's movements, causing him to constantly slip and stumble as he fought. The ping pong balls couldn't be underestimated- with tens of thousands of balls constantly interrupting him, their influence on the battle was incredible.
However, Di Kuang's defense was just too strong. Cao Qian couldn't break through his copper skin and every attack resulted in damage to herself instead.
At this moment, Xing Ye lifted his gun. There was still one bullet left in the Hundred Shot Gun.
He had already decided where to shoot. Di Kuang wasn't afraid of the gun- after all, his defense was unrivalled.
With a 'bang!', the bullet went straight through Di Kuang's left ear and exited out his right ear.
Di Kuang's movements halted, his eyes wide as he fell down, an expression of disbelief on his face. The thousands of ping pong balls he fell on carried him down to the second floor.
He never imagined that Xing Ye would shoot there.
Even if Xing Ye shot his eyes, Di Kuang wouldn't have died. It would hurt, but he could still fight.
However, through his ears to his brain, even if it was just one bullet, he would definitely die.
A notification of obtaining 1000 points rang in Xing Ye's ears as Cao Qian gave a slight sigh of relief.
The curtain had finally dropped on this fierce battle.
On the other side, Bai Xu's physical attacks had no way of harming Liu Muqing. The painting Liu Muqing held made Bai Xi's eyes burn with pain, and she howled mournfully.
Peaceful Spirit's Tune's firm and gentle melody filled the space, silently protecting Liu Muqing.
Aunty Zhang carefully avoided the ping pong balls as she walked down from the third floor. Her eyes were filled with tears as she stared at her daughter, looking every bit as beautiful and outstanding as she had before she died.
"Qingqing, you can do it. Mom knows that you've always been amazing. I'm proud to have a daughter like you." Aunty Zhang said.
Liu Muqing cried, "Mom, I'm so sorry! I made you and Dad kneel down and beg the people at the police department for me!"
Aunty Zhang wiped her tears as she shook her head, "Don't say that. Between mother and daughter, we can't pick and haggle at every little thing. I knew my daughter never stole anything- that's enough."
Familial love and friendly feelings interweaved together, causing a faint glow to appear around Liu Muqing's body. Her hand passed through Bai Xu's head, taking out a golden light.
This was the intelligence and talent Bai Xu had stolen from her. It merged with Liu Muqing's body, returning to its rightful owner.
Without any more energy to support her body, under Peaceful Spirit's Tune, Bai Xu sobbed on the floor in grief.
At this moment, Xing Ye didn't hesitate to drop not just one, not two, but three pianos, like he didn't care about wasting his points at all. "These are copies of Lin Jingxue's piano. Enjoy."
Under the triple attack of the music, pianos, and Liu Muqing, Bai Xu could no longer endure. Her frightening tongue and sharpened teeth faded away, her fingernails also returning to normal as she curled up on the ground and fainted away.
"There's no need to fight any longer," Liu Muqing told Xing Ye, " She's already returned to being human."
"Then that's good." Xing Ye waved away the Redrawing Pen, his arm sore from drawing all night.
Liu Muqing was turning to reminsence with her mother when a knock suddenly sounded from the first floor.
Xing Ye looked at Guan Ling, "You go open the door."
"W-Why?" Tonight had almost tormented Guan Ling to death.
"I promised to give you 2000 points, and now the points have come. Go open the door."
Guan Ling dubiously ran to the first floor and found that the one knocking on the door was actually Zhang Feiming. It wasn't clear how he managed to reach the mission space, but it should be connected with his status as one of the campus's seven unbelievable legends.
After Zhang Feiming entered, he immediately asked to see Liu Muqing. Guan Ling led him to see her.
When Zhang Feiming saw his cousin, he fell to the floor, kneeling and bawling, "Cousin, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"
A system notification sounded by Guan Ling's ear. "Player Guan Ling has successfully helped Zhang Feiming deliver his 'apology' to his victim, Liu Muqing, and is awarded with 2000 points. Campus search completion degree: 5/7."
"What?" Guan Ling's face was filled with disbelief, "I got 2000 points just like that? Isn't that too ridiculous? I've never gotten this many points before."
"Why did you give the opportunity to him?" Cao Qian asked.
"Didn't he save you earlier?" Xing Ye said, "I promised to give him a mission prop for it, so now I'm honoring my word."
Xing Ye had always shown reward and punishment to his subordinates clearly. He would never keep it vague.
Cao Qian smiled. At that time, she really thought she was going to die. Originally, she thought that she had gotten enough points, so losing would have been fine. She didn't think she'd still have a chance to be rescued.
It really felt great to not be abandoned. She didn't want to feel abandoned ever again.
Guan Ling's addition made the campus search completion degree 5/7. This was because when Aunty Zhang gave the landscape painting to Liu Muqing, Xing Ye and Cao Qian had already received a system notification: Players Xing Ye and Cao Qian have successfully helped Zhang Shuqin give the painting to Liu Muqing. Each player is awarded with 1000 points. Campus search completion degree: 3/7."
They also got a notification when Liu Muqing took her intellect back from Bai Xu: "Players Xing Ye and Cao Qian have successfully helped Liu Muqing take back her brain. Each player is awarded with 1000 points. Campus search completion degree: 4/7."
Hearing Zhang Feiming's apology, Aunty Zhang asked why he was apologizing. Zhang Feiming bawled as he explained what happened that night.
Zhang Feiming had recovered his memories about what happened on the night of the new moon. He thought Bai Xu wanted to come see Liu Muqing to give her prayers, and let her come into the funeral hall. However, who would've expected Bai Xu to suddenly let out an eerie laugh when she saw Liu Muqing. Her tongue suddenly extended, going through Liu Muqing's ears and wiggling around before pulling it back. She then licked her lips before turning to Zhang Feiming with a smile, "Thank you, it was delicious."
Zhang Feiming had no idea his goddess would suddenly turn into such a monster. The shock he received was too much, muddling his memories about the events that night. When dawn came, he had completely forgotten everything.
However, every night of the new moon, looking at the pitch black sky would make him recall everything and run to the art studio to frantically create a new head. He would subconsciously remember what happened to his cousin's head and wanted to make a better head to give his cousin.
However, what he truly wanted to give his cousin was an apology.
When Aunty Zhang heard his story, she furiously slapped him before pointing at Bai Xu. "You actually let such a monster... my Qingqing... sob..."
"Mom, don't cry." Liu Muqing patted her mother's back, softly comforting her. "If that didn't happen, I might've gone straight into the afterlife and wouldn't have been able to stay here for so long. At least I could see you one last time. I'm just happy I could personally punish the person who harmed me."
She then turned to look at Xing Ye and Cao Qian. "Thank you for your help. Now, it's time for me to go."
The ceiling warped as a faint, white light flowed down, pooling around Liu Muqing's body. Everybody raised their heads and saw that in the light, Lin Jingxue was beckoning to Liu Muqing.