Am I... a Kill-Stealer?

"You're... Luo Bufan?" The young man looked at Luo Bufan, an incredulous expression on his face. The village chief, possessed by the Sea God, looked equally stunned; clearly, today's turn of events had exceeded his expectations. Slumped on the ground, Luo Bufan looked at Chen Fan's familiar face, momentarily lost in confusion. An Qiao's eyes widened, followed by a wry smile. "So the protagonist of this mission was our captain all along." In her earlier conversations with Qi Yuan, An Qiao had referred to the task worlds as parallel worlds. This hadn't been a casual remark; they were truly parallel. The task world they were in seemed to be a replica of events that had occurred in the real world's past. It was as though they had traveled back in time to different timelines to complete their tasks. Because of this, during missions, they had encountered parallel counterparts of many famous historical figures, and had also come to know many dazzling yet ill-fated minor figures who had never left a mark in the history books. How vast and heavy history was, and how minuscule every minor figure seemed within its long river. "So the captain went through the same things Luo Bufan experienced." The man in black martial attire looked at Chen Fan, a sliver of wariness entering his eyes. After all, Luo Bufan was a ruthless man who had slaughtered his entire family just to forcefully boost his strength and slay a demon. If he would even kill his closest kin, who wouldn't he dare kill? "The captain isn't that kind of person! I don't believe it!" An Qiao gritted her teeth, her gaze conflicted. "There must be more to this!" At this moment, all eyes were on Chen Fan. Chen Fan looked at Luo Bufan, his expression resolute. "I am another you, a version of you from another world. "Once, I faced the exact same ordeal as you. "I suffered, I blamed myself, I was consumed with regret, and I even thought of ending my life. "But... in the end, I endured. "If I died, wouldn't my parents and my family have died in vain? "Luo Bufan, you must remember that behind you are the hundreds of thousands of people of Yunyan County. "Do you truly want to watch this great demon completely submerge Yunyan County?" Chen Fan's voice was hoarse yet firm, tinged with a touch of desolate grief. In his past, he had indeed gone through this. Yet he had eventually pulled through and sealed the great demon. After coming to this world, those long-buried memories had been unsealed. He appeared calm and nonchalant, but in truth, every word drained his emotional strength, tearing open his bloody past once more. "Luo Bufan, will you join me today in unleashing... the Luo family's ultimate art, the Lifeless Hand?!" Chen Fan roared. The enemy they faced today was considerably stronger and far craftier than the one he had encountered back then. Hearing Chen Fan's words, the last trace of doubt in Luo Bufan's eyes vanished. The Lifeless Hand was the Luo family's ancestral technique, passed down solely to the next family head. Aside from his father, he was the only one in the Luo family who knew it. Outsiders knew nothing of this art, nor could anyone without their bloodline practice it. Chen Fan had not lied to him. Luo Bufan glanced at Chen Xinlian's corpse, endless self-reproach and remorse filling his eyes, before his gaze suddenly turned steely. "All right!" The Lifeless Hand, true to its name, meant no life remained once used. At this moment, the Luo Bufan of the past and the Chen Fan of the present chose the very same path. His clan, his family, his fiancée—the faces of all those who had died gruesome deaths flooded Luo Bufan's mind. Right now, the blood running through him was no longer his own; it was theirs. "Lifeless Hand!" Luo Bufan of the Jade-Blood Realm roared. Chen Fan, at the mastery of the Qi-Blood Realm, bellowed. On the beach, two terrifying figures charged without hesitation toward the body possessed by the Sea God. Blood-red palm prints danced across the sky, like falling leaves in a maple forest. In the past, the ancestor of the Luo family had perished after creating the Lifeless Hand in a maple forest. Ever since, the Luo family had possessed this ultimate art, yet none of their descendants had ever used it. Today, Luo Bufan brought the Lifeless Hand back into the world. A martial art transcending the Jade-Blood Realm unleashed its terrifying might at this very moment. That matchless power, that desolate intent reminiscent of drifting autumn leaves, even bore a resemblance to the origin divine abilities of Purple Mansion cultivators. "No!" the Sea God bellowed. Facing the two palms, his body was utterly immobilized. His formidable hard kung fu seemed completely useless in this moment. Even the illusion techniques he took the greatest pride in were rendered utterly futile. The two bloody palm strikes slammed squarely into his vessel. Boom! The village chief's body shattered, flesh and bone ground into powder. The strike even reached into the Sea God's soul. "No!" The Sea God let out an agonized screech. Its spirit body floated in midair, its eyes filled with frantic rage. "You actually... destroyed one of my physical vessels! Unforgivable! Unforgivable!" The Sea God was deeply pained, but far more infuriated. It had plotted for years, using illusions to deceive Boss Kun before devouring him and turning him into an avatar. Yet just now, the two had struck simultaneously with immense power, dealing a direct blow to its soul. It had been forced to sacrifice the Boss Kun avatar to withstand those two Lifeless Hand strikes. Not only that, but several other host vessels it inhabited had burst and perished as well. In Haishi Village, over a hundred able-bodied young men dropped dead on the spot. Even so, it had still sustained severe injuries. One could say that this suicidal martial technique had utterly drained decades of its accumulation. Especially the avatar of Boss Kun, which possessed Jade-Blood combat strength. Today's endeavor could truly be said to have cost him both the lady and the soldiers—a complete loss. "Curse you all! You must all die! Every last one of you!" The Sea God's eyes were bloodshot. Following its furious roar, the sea in the distance suddenly churned with monstrous waves, and water surged skyward like a waterspout. Above the massive waves, an ugly, soft-bodied behemoth opened three eyes, each like a massive lantern, representing three distinct martial techniques. The white pupil governed illusions. The red pupil governed offense. The purple pupil governed control. This was the true body of the Sea God, the Spirit Blood Child spoken of by Boss Kun. The so-called Spirit Blood Child was nothing more than a scam. After the Sea God devoured Boss Kun and turned him into an avatar, it had spread rumors about the Spirit Blood Child, seeking to devour every demon in Yunyan County. Yet for some reason, an unexpected turn of events had occurred. Now, it had even lost a powerful avatar. Nearly a third of its overall combat strength was gone. How could it not be enraged? With its scheme shattered, it decided to drop all pretense and directly enact its plan: flooding Yunyan. This had been the information Luo Bufan had received back then. That was why he had been so unsettled and sought help from the imperial court. Yet one hundred thousand taels of silver had yielded no result whatsoever. Under the Sea God's control, seawater surged together continuously, swelling higher and wider. It truly intended to submerge Yunyan with the ocean. "What do we do? The Sea God isn't dead!" "We're done for! It's enraged!" "Captain!" The three from the Demon Suppression Division rushed to Chen Fan. At this moment, Chen Fan's face was as pale as paper. He looked at the distant seawater, a trace of worry flashing in his eyes. "Yunyan County... is probably finished." In the past, the enemy he faced had been even stronger than this one. Yet in the end, with the help of others, he had sealed that great demon. But today... Yunyan County... With his hair disheveled, Luo Bufan stared at the rising mountain of water ahead, his eyes bloodshot. "I... failed. I cannot accept this..." His closest kin had died horrific deaths, yet the demon he wanted to eliminate most remained alive; even throwing away his life hadn't taken it down. How unresigned he was, how filled with regret, how... Luo Bufan stared wide-eyed at the sea, as if he would die with his eyes unclosed. Chen Fan gasped for breath, but only coughed up fresh blood. An Qiao pressed down on Chen Fan's shoulder, a layer of mist welling up in her eyes. "What's going on? The mission is clearly completed—why can't we go back yet?!" She wanted to return not just to escape the Sea God, but also hoping to exchange for some medicines to treat Chen Fan. She believed Chen Fan could still be saved. How could Chen Fan, who had lived for hundreds of years, fail to see through her thoughts? "I should have died long ago. I can't be saved." His heart meridian was severed, his blood vessels dried up; he was only a step away from death. "What a pity..." A self-deprecating smile touched the corners of Chen Fan's lips. "The chosen one of the heavens in the eyes of later generations seems to be a piece of trash... in every world. "Unable to even protect his own family." The events of the past seemed to be the deepest wound in his heart. Now, he would finally never have to endure such agony again. At this moment, the seawater gathered, and towering waves surged higher and higher. The entire Yunyan County Seat was in imminent peril. Unfortunately, not many people were paying attention to this. Perched atop the waves, the Sea God looked immensely arrogant and overbearing, like a sovereign who held dominion over all things in the world. Right at that moment, a calm voice pierced through the roaring din of the monstrous waves, ringing clearly in everyone's ears. "Sure enough, in this game, I'm not the protagonist who makes an entrance at the very end to save the world. "Instead, I'm just a sneak who finishes off low-health enemies and steals kills. "King of the Moli Fiendfish, old friend, we meet again." Qi Yuan appeared, his expression leisurely. It was as though he were facing not a terrifying, colossal demon, but an easy kill with low health. The Sea God's gaze finally settled on Qi Yuan, a flicker of surprise in its eyes. "We've... met?" "Mm... you could say that. "In the real world, I ate you. "Mm... though that was a plumper, more delicious version of you." Qi Yuan recalled eating the King of the Moli Fiendfish in reality, finding the aftertaste lingering. That had been a Wuying-level great demon, far beyond what this Jade-Blood Realm monster before him could compare to. "Impudent!" The Sea God flew into a rage, its blood-red pupil fixing upon Qi Yuan. Instantly, a scarlet arrow of blood shot toward Qi Yuan. "Sorry, but I'm also at the Jade-Blood Realm. Sidestep!" Qi Yuan moved effortlessly, dodging the arrow with agile footwork. Surprise flickered in the Sea God's eyes before turning into mocking amusement. "A mere novice who just stepped into the Jade-Blood Realm dares act so presumptuous!" Boss Kun had been a mid-stage Jade-Blood Realm demon. The joint strike unleashed by Luo Bufan and Chen Fan had boasted power bordering on late-stage Jade-Blood Realm. Yet the Sea God had still survived. "If you were at full health, I might have been somewhat wary of you. But right now, you're just at low health—you only look fierce, but in truth, you're not worth mentioning," Qi Yuan retorted disdainfully. He loved low-health enemies like this. How wonderful it was to be a sneak and mop up a low-health target from behind. The sneer in the Sea God's eyes deepened. "It just so happens that Kun Feng's avatar has fallen. You... shall become my new avatar!" Although the destruction of Kun Feng's avatar had reduced the Sea God's combat power by a third, the illusion arts it took the greatest pride in remained intact. To deal with Kun Feng or the earlier Luo Bufan, it had needed elaborate schemes. Against someone like Qi Yuan, who had only just entered the Jade-Blood Realm, overwhelming him with illusions would suffice. Along with the Sea God's voice, the white pupil turned to Qi Yuan. In an instant, Qi Yuan felt the world go quiet. Narrowing his eyes, he smiled brightly. "Do you want to listen to my heart-voice?" The Sea God's illusion attack functioned by invading Qi Yuan's mind, gathering his memories, and eavesdropping on his inner thoughts. "Sigh, you're too weak. You can't even open the door. Come on, be good, I'll open it for you." As the saying went, a true confidant was hard to come by. Since he had finally found someone eager to listen to his inner thoughts, Qi Yuan naturally had to hurry and open the door for it. The moment the door opened, densely packed... Divine Infants flooded into the Sea God's consciousness. Countless chaotic, mad, and disordered curses, murmurs, and screams of delight rushed into the Sea God's mind. Bang! The Sea God's white pupil burst violently, the sclera turning to pulp and splattering everywhere. "Aaaagh... What are you... Aaaargh!" The Sea God's thoughts turned incoherent and maddened. Just now, its illusion had finally breached Qi Yuan's mental defenses and heard his inner voice. Yet what in the world... was that which it had heard?! "Aaaargh!" It shrieked hysterically, plunging its claws into the socket of its white eye as if trying to tear it to shreds completely. "Sigh, why didn't you stay a little longer? My Divine Infants are all rather lonely; it's so rare for someone to drop by and chat with them." Qi Yuan looked somewhat forlorn, resembling an abandoned, lonely elder left behind in a village. Soon, however, he wore that sly, kill-stealing grin again. "Now do you know why I called you low health? "Without Boss Kun, you... are nothing!" What the King of the Moli Fiendfish excelled at most was illusions, bewildering minds, and concocting environments. And the thing Qi Yuan feared least was deception, nor did he fear illusions. The reason was simple: his mind was flexible, and he was very smart. Furthermore, he had eyes that could see hidden information. He could never be defrauded by illusions. Thus, he was the natural counter to the King of the Moli Fiendfish. Without Boss Kun protecting it, wasn't the Sea God just a low-health target waiting to be butchered? "Someone once said that you can never step into the same river twice, nor can you eat the same fish twice. "Today, I'll break that person's words and taste... whether you or the previous one tastes better." Jade-Blood Level Explosive Bird-Killing Fist was activated at this moment. Without any flashy embellishment, it was just a plain punch. Piercing through all illusions, it struck straight at the Sea God's heart. "No!" In its maddened state, the Sea God had no ability to resist whatsoever. The murmurs of the Divine Infants within Qi Yuan, akin to the whispers of an evil deity, had driven it completely insane. Under Qi Yuan's blow, it collapsed stiffly, the flame of its life slowly extinguishing. The monstrous waves once again settled into calm, like fireworks fading against the dome of the sky. Over thirty drops of jade-white blood appeared in Qi Yuan's hand. Qi Yuan wore an inscrutable expression. This mission had been very easy, and he had even watched a... TV drama. His gaze fell upon Chen Fan. At this moment, Chen Fan's internal organs were completely ruptured. In his eyes, it was hard to tell whether relief or lifeless silence reigned. The crazed Luo Bufan also lay on the ground, a smile on his face, though the expression looked uglier than weeping. "Thank you. Dying like this... might be a little easier to accept," Chen Fan said faintly, looking at this Qi Yuan who felt both familiar and strange. His eyes had long since lost all color. He seemed utterly indifferent to everything in this world. Dying like this was also a release. At least Yunyan County had survived, hadn't it? Then Qi Yuan looked at Chen Fan and asked in a calm voice, "Before leaving, do you want to hear some of the game's hidden lore?" Chen Fan's life force was continuously fading; he did not answer. Luo Bufan also lay on the ground, quietly awaiting the arrival of death. Nonetheless, Qi Yuan continued on his own: "The mission hasn't ended yet because it's actually very simple: the Luo and Chen families were actually killed by... the King of the Moli Fiendfish. "Didn't the game quest state it? Investigate the truth behind the demon exterminating the Luo and Chen families. "Clearly... it was the demon that did it. "In truth... your father, your mother, your family, and your fiancée didn't die by your hand. "The King of the Moli Fiendfish killed them. It's just that it was a master of illusions, tricking you all into believing that you were the ones who killed them. "As for the motive, that's simple too. The King of the Moli Fiendfish's combat power was too weak, so it needed people to protect it. "Boss Kun was one of its candidates, and Yunyan County's favored son of heaven, Luo Bufan... was another candidate it took an interest in." Hearing this, Luo Bufan's body trembled. Joy surfaced on An Qiao's face. "I knew Captain wasn't that kind of person! How could he possibly have killed his parents?!" However, Chen Fan, whom she was supporting, remained very calm upon hearing Qi Yuan's words and asked softly, "Is that true?" "Yeah," Qi Yuan nodded. An Qiao wept tears of joy. "Captain, once we return, there will definitely be items that can save you!" The other two men in black martial attire also smiled happily. This mission had been perilous, but they had pulled through without disaster. As long as the captain could be healed, it would be a huge gain—a perfect conclusion. Chen Fan seemed not to hear An Qiao's words. He coughed relentlessly, crimson blood pouring from the corners of his mouth mixed with minced bits of internal organs. He looked at An Qiao. "After the mission is complete... go to my residence, and give my things to... him... as... payment..." Having delivered these final words, he glanced at the young Luo Bufan nearby. For the first time, a relieved, relaxed smile appeared in his eyes, and his hand finally dropped limp. The world had chosen to make peace with him, yet he had not quite made peace with himself. Qi Yuan felt little emotional ripple over Chen Fan's death. After all, he was just an NPC, and one with little screen time at that. "The mission is finally over... Where do we head back to?" "Well, before we go back, let's bury him first. Respect for the deceased comes first."