章節 112: Charles: Kill the Species!
Beacon City
Bai Yi stood atop a tall building, not dressed in a plague doctor's suit, but simply observing the scene unfolding in the city below.
Once the ancient god's followers were cleared out, he planned to gather all the gold-ranked masters and confront the legendary ancient god. Though merely a phantom, it would be his first encounter with such a being.
Touching his face, Bai Yi's expression turned contemplative. "Are you no longer hiding?" he asked calmly.
"Haha, Mr. Bai Yi, you're quite the joker. When have I ever hidden? I only wish to discuss cooperation," Charles replied, removing his plague doctor mask. Internally, he berated Pu Sheng for turning against him after he had shared inside information with good intentions.
The plague doctors began self-examinations, realizing that staying among them could be fatal; they couldn't withstand the might of seven gold doctors.
Bai Yi remained unimpressed. "Cooperation? The advantage lies with me. Why should I cooperate with you?"
"You're trying to catch them. Isn't your intention clear?" Charles replied casually, perching on the edge of the tall building. "But I think you're just guessing. No matter how weakened it is, it's still a god."
Seeing Bai Yi's silence, Charles felt helpless and muttered under his breath, "Pu Sheng, you fool!"
Feeling a bit better after the curse, he looked down at the chaos gradually calming below. "The ancient god Cersis is now only a demigod. Can we talk about cooperation now?"
Bai Yi smiled and turned around. "Of course, haven't I been waiting for you?"
Charles noted the change in Bai Yi; the arrogance from their first meeting had faded. Though still annoyed about being hit by a missile, he recognized that they shared a common goal: extracting something from the ancient god.
Moreover, he had a significant advantage. In just one day, he had integrated into the group of plague doctors and nearly controlled the entire nightmare force within three days.
"I have a way to weaken the power of the ancient gods, but I have one request," Charles said, his tone serious. "Kill a man named Pu Sheng; he's a believer of the Lord of Disaster and is currently in Shiwu City."
Bai Yi considered this and replied, "That's manageable. Now, how do we weaken him?"
Charles surveyed the settling chaos below. "Sacrificing outsiders and dangerous objects to the evil secret Black Death will draw His attention. The rules of this world will change, and the power of the god will drop to gold, risking the world's collapse."
Bai Yi thought it over and decided, "Change it."
He wanted this world; it offered immense potential for his growth, especially with the dangerous creatures it contained. Once he enhanced his soul power, he could harvest C-level or B-level creatures, allowing his evil thoughts to grow without resource constraints.
The resources in this world were enticing. If they could lure enemies in and unleash S-002, even the legends would kneel under the curse of the Black Death.
Controlling this world offered greater benefits than destroying it. However, Bai Yi noted the term "Evil Secret Black Death." Was this the name of the great being in the dimensional turbulence?
It became clear that dimensional turbulence was a realm of incomprehensible entities.
Charles winced. "Change it? Do you think weakening demigods is easy?"
"Isn't it?" Bai Yi sighed, disappointed. While Charles lacked a solution, he had one, albeit dangerous and uncertain.
To put it simply, it involved invoking the true name of S-002 in the ancient god's realm, allowing 002 to confront the god, while other dangerous objects would bolster its power. The twenty-three gold masters would then deliver a righteous beating.
The critical factor was enhancing 002. Certain dangerous objects could make 002 incredibly strong. Feeding it a cup of S-001 pathogen and granting it the instant death feature of 003, along with some S-level fusion and enhancements, could push 002 to the limit.
Bai Yi estimated that after this combination, 002 could reach the pinnacle of the nightmare world. However, this approach risked creating an uncontrollable entity. Even if the god fell, their side might suffer heavy losses.
Despite all calculations favoring them, he wouldn't dare enter this world before it reset. That's why he had asked the three major forces to spare some of the ancient god's favored ones; he needed this strategy.
In the original timeline, they had succeeded, with Charles and Pu Sheng escaping, albeit at a hefty price. Bai Yi's aim was to ensure Charles emerged as the ultimate victor.
If a peaceful resolution was possible, he preferred that. If not, he could always create a father figure and let the world lie dormant until it reset.
After all, this was a nightmare world under his influence. Time invested in acquiring resources was far better than outright destruction.
As Bai Yi concluded, an overwhelming sense of crisis enveloped Charles.
Looking at Bai Yi, fear gripped him. Despite being a level higher, he sensed a breath of death emanating from Bai Yi, which was unsettling.
He vowed to take his alchemist profession more seriously moving forward.
Noticing the doctors below glancing their way, he said decisively, "Yes, of course, there's a way."
"First, you're aware of what's transpired here, right?"
Charles felt the sense of crisis recede and breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to know. Meta-time and space can't simulate living gods—neither the ancient gods nor that dimensional being can be replicated."
"However, during that conflict, the ancient god perished, allowing the ancient god Cersis to be reborn here."
"But since the nightmare world can't comprehend beings from dimensional turbulence, its plot is incomplete."
"In other words, the formation of the nightmare world is based on the fears of those involved, making the plot reasonable again. This rationality, however, is inherently irrational, allowing me to elevate that god's strength to an unreasonable level—essentially to gold."
Charles raised an eyebrow at Bai Yi. "What do you think? Impressive, right?"
Bai Yi frowned, refraining from asking how to implement such ideas. If Charles dared to divulge it prematurely, Bai Yi would send him to meet his god early.
Instead, Bai Yi asked calmly, "What do you need?"
"The power of the ancient gods within the bodies of their favored ones, S-015 God's Showcase," Charles answered decisively.
Bai Yi nodded. "Alright, we can set off for Shiwu City now."
S-015 was a dangerous object held by the demon hunters, not located in Beacon City. However, it could weaken the god to a gold level. With the twenty-three gold masters, hunting the god would become much simpler.
"No," Charles shook his head. "Where do you think the core of this world is?"
Bai Yi pondered before replying, "Beacon Fire City?"
"No." Charles extended his hand, darkness swirling around it as a beacon map materialized.
"I mentioned that this world made specific revisions to its plot for coherence. Look at this."
He pointed to an equilateral triangle formed by Beacon Fire City, Silvermoon City, and Stonemist City.
Bai Yi fell silent. This couldn't be mere coincidence. He gazed at the triangle's center, where a dead city named Sunset City resided.
Beacon City served as the capital, and each street bore the name of a city. Sunset City, however, was devoid of life.
Bai Yi's silence stemmed from a troubling realization: if the god's kingdom lay in Sunset City, it meant that S-002 was currently wandering there.
In other words, if he crossed paths with S-002, the Black Death Curse would likely befall him, resulting in his demise.
"What's wrong?" Charles asked, glancing at the map. "It's an equilateral triangle. Given that the capital of Xia must be at the center, Sunset City is a correction point. The gods lie dormant in a dimension of their kingdom, waiting for reincarnation or someone to enter."
"It's nothing. I agree to your requests; they will be fulfilled tomorrow," Bai Yi replied, keeping his thoughts to himself. He wasn't obligated to pay for this information. He would ensure the ancient gods were weakened, but that was his only promise.
Once that was done, if he fell to S-002, what did it matter to him, White Plague?
He suddenly recalled something. "To prevent any deception, let's formalize our agreement."
Charles readily agreed. "Of course. What do you have in mind?"
Bai Yi raised his hand, an abyssal aura manifesting. The atmosphere warped slightly, as the nightmare world seemed unwelcoming to the presence of abyssal consciousness.
But Bai Yi remained undeterred; he merely needed to solidify his contract.
"You need to weaken the power of the ancient god. During this process, I won't attack you, nor will I allow anyone from the Nightmare World to do so. How does that sound?"
Bai Yi spoke calmly as the scarlet contract materialized in his hand, its text clear and straightforward.
Though it lacked intricate designs or embellishments, Charles still insisted on reviewing it carefully. "I need to check it."
Bai Yi smiled, extending the contract to Charles.
Charles, unfamiliar with the nuances of contract signing, was surprised when the moment he reached out, the scarlet document suddenly melted away, vanishing into the void.
This was the essence of a contract signing.
Bai Yi's expression hardened slightly; he lifted Charles with his mental power and flew downwards. "Then it's a pleasure to cooperate with you."
"Happy cooperation, indeed," Charles replied, leaping off the tall building, his form fading into the distance. "I look forward to what I see in Beacon City tomorrow; otherwise, this situation will become very complicated."
Bai Yi ignored him, activating his communicator. "Status report on current arrests."
Zizi~
A crackling sound followed, and the first report came from a demon hunter in Shiwu City: "A mid-level gold named Pu Sheng escaped. The others have been captured, including one gold-ranked ancient god believer who died. Only one mid-level gold remains."
Next, the Knights of Light reported succinctly: "Captured four mid-ranks, killed one top-rank and one mid-rank."
Finally, the Plague Doctors provided a straightforward update: they had brought back a tied-up troll and the corpse of a night elf.
The whereabouts of twelve god-favored individuals were now known, except for Pu Sheng and Charles.
Bai Yi smirked, piecing together the reason behind the gathering of the ancient gods' followers.
Charles and Pu Sheng had likely set a trap, agreed upon with the ancient gods, luring ten gold beings into it. Based on the conditions required to weaken the two nightmare ancient gods, these individuals were sacrifices, leaving only Charles and Pu Sheng to escape the nightmare world alive.
Bai Yi was confident in his deductions and had left the meeting decisively because his multi-layered contract had invalidated upon signing.
Clearly, Charles was adept at manipulating contracts and quite cunning. If not for Sabo's book on devilish contracts, which had a similar aura, Bai Yi might not have sensed the contract's ineffectiveness.
As always, practicing contract negotiations proved beneficial.
With no chance of deceit, collaboration was now the only option. Bai Yi touched his face, hoping he wouldn't have to renege on his word or stir trouble.
He switched his communicator to full channel mode and smiled. "Bring all the captured believers and S-015 from the Shiwu City detention center to Beacon City. I need to make final preparations."
"S-015 is dangerous, and using it will come at a cost, Mr. White Plague," a demon hunter warned.
"I understand," Bai Yi cut in calmly. "Mr. Vic, that's a god. Without a price, we won't even lay eyes on Him. I need your trust."
Silence lingered for a moment. After confirming the ancient gods' existence and their escalating power, they felt they had no choice.
Demon Hunter: "I apologize, Mr. White Plague, but the items you require will arrive in Beacon City tomorrow."
Knights of Light: "Acknowledged."
Bai Yi glanced at the plague doctor, who nodded slightly. Despite being gold-ranked, this knowledgeable alchemist was clearly the core of their current situation.
On the Other Side
Charles stared at the disaster clinging to his arm, a growing doubt clouding his thoughts. When had he acquired this?
He carefully picked up a note that had tumbled to the ground, appearing alongside the mask. He was sure it hadn't been there moments ago.
Opening the note, he found a scrawled message:
"Alternative contract. See you tomorrow – White Plague."
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