Chapter 435: Chen Xiaolian's Decision

[System prompt: The second phase’s quest is as follows…

[Option: Kill off all the quest targets you have.

[Please choose: Yes or no.

[You are eligible for advantageous information for this second phase: By killing the quest targets, you will obtain advantages when going into the final phase of the storyline. By choosing ‘no’, you will be entering a branch quest, which will increase the level of difficulty.]

…

Chen Xiaolian and the others: “… … …”

The room suddenly fell into a state of silence, not a sound could be heard.

After a good one minute, the sound of Roddy swearing came through the guild channel.

“What the bloody *** is this damned thing supposed to be?”

Chen Xiaolian remained silent.

However, everyone inside the room could feel that Chen Xiaolian’s eyes had become as sharp as a hawk’s. His expression grew increasingly grim and sparks of rage seemingly flashed out of his eyes.

Please choose: Yes or no.

This was the *** quest for the second phase?

Kill Will Ritz Beyliah?

Kill this innocent seven-year-old boy?

Kill off this quest target that they had to risk their lives to find in the first phase?

There was silence, deathly silence.

Every single member was casting complicated gazes at Chen Xiaolian. Soo Soo on the other hand, had a shocked and fearful expression as she watched on. Then, she seemingly recollected herself and said, “Oppa, this is not…”

Chen Xiaolian took a deep breath and reached out with his hand to pat Soo Soo’s mushroom like head. Tousling her hair, he gave her a comforting look.

After that, Chen Xiaolian raised his head and looked at the others. With a solemn expression, he said firmly.

“NO!”

No one said anything.

Chen Xiaolian continued in a calm tone, “My decision is NO!

“I am sorry. This time, I will not be getting a majority vote to make this decision. Rather, as the Guild Leader, I will be directly making the decision: NO!

“In this damned game, I can struggle for the sake of living, I can fight, I can go risk my life, I can do all those things for the sake of living on – but only if I can continue living like a human!

“I refuse to become a beast, a beast that would wantonly murder ordinary humans! If that were to happen, then what is the difference between us and those Players? Those Players kill wantonly and treat the people in this world as NPC.

“But I am sorry to say I cannot do so!

“I want to live; however, I want to live like a human! Not as a killing machine, not as a cold hearted program!”

After Chen Xiaolian finished his words, everyone looked at him.

“Guild Leader, no need for a majority vote, I support you,” Lun Tai was quick to speak up. He seemingly gave a sigh of relief. “Actually, I have the same thoughts as you. I also want to live, but as a human of this world and not some program that kills wantonly and views the others in this world as NPCs! If we lose that part of us, there will be no reason to keep on living. There will also be no more reason for us to continue our struggles.”

“No disagreements from me,” said Xia Xiaolei furiously. “Is this shitty system messing around with us?! Damn it!”

“I have no disagreements,” whispered Qimu Xi. “I, I cannot kill.”

The only one who did not say anything was Qiao Qiao – there was no need for her to say anything, the gentle look she gave Chen Xiaolian was enough.

Chen Xiaolian breathed a sigh of relief.

Next, he accessed the system and made his choice.

[Option: Kill off all the quest targets you have.

[Please choose: Yes or no.

[Option chosen… no!]

After Chen Xiaolian made the choice, the system swiftly issued out a second prompt.

[System prompt: Meteor Rock Guild has chosen [No]. Following the option made, the third phase’s quest is now being inputted; please hurry to Tel Aviv within 24 hours. After you have entered the city, the system will automatically lead you to your quest point.

[Quest condition no 1: Quest target must survive.

[Quest condition no 2: Capture at least one blocker and obtain information from that blocker. The next phase of the story will be adjusted depending on the degree of information you obtain.

[Special prompt: In the second phase, participants are not allowed to fight or kill each other.]

When this series of prompts appeared in everyone’s personal systems, they all became shocked!

“Have you all read it?” There was a solemn expression on Chen Xiaolian’s face. “Protect Will… at the same time, according to the system, there will be blockers. I speculate that these blockers are not other participants. They are likely some problems generated by the system.”

Lun Tai racked his gun slide and said, “If so, let us move out.”

After considering it, Chen Xiaolian called out through the guild channel. “Roddy!”

“Here.” Roddy laughed.

“Now is the time for you to join up with us. We need you, the machine master.”

“No problem.”

Chen Xiaolian turned to face the others. “The second phase prohibits fights between participants… … for now, we can ignore the danger posed by Thorned Flower Guild. This is good news.”

“Who knows? Those fellows might choose to kill off their quest target,” said Lun Tai after some consideration.

Chen Xiaolian’s heart skipped a beat.

He agreed with Lun Tai’s opinion.

Thorned Flower Guild was probably not as kind-hearted as them. Most importantly, considering Thorned Flower Guild’s strength, they must surely be in the lead and had obtained the advantageous information as well.

“If so… … you mean to say that Thorned Flower Guild might enter a different route from ours?” Chen Xiaolian ruminated as he stroked his chin.

“The prompt had stated that by killing the quest target, we can obtain advantages when going into the final phase of the storyline. Who knows… maybe, they will be able to skip through the second phase and go straight to the third phase? Just like the level skipping thing in games.” Lun Tai revealed a wry smile. “This is only my speculation.”

“That is a very logical speculation.” Chen Xiaolian nodded his head.

He checked the time and said, “The system wants us to reach Tel Aviv in 24 hours. I have checked the map earlier; there is only a short distance between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. If we use our jeeps, we can reach Tel Aviv in merely one hour. However, the system had given us 24 hours instead! I believe that this will not be a smooth ride. Still, having more time is a good thing.”

“Do we move out now?” Xia Xiaolei asked eagerly.

“Wait for Roddy to meet up with us first,” Chen Xiaolian said. Suddenly, his face flickered and turned a little strange. “However, I need to leave for a while. There is a place I need to go.”

“What?” Everyone was stunned by that.

“There is a special reason for this… …and also… … I suddenly thought of something intriguing and I want to go verify my speculation.”

…

A secret place in Jerusalem.

Inside a large warehouse, several Awakened ones in combat uniforms with a thorned flower crest sewn upon them were pointing their guns at 10 ordinary humans who were crouched down in a row.

Those figures were all dressed differently and were all of varying ages. However, all of them had their heads covered by black masks.

A muscular man, whose body was over two metres tall, cast a cold gaze at the crouching figures before turning around and moving toward the warehouse door.

“Operations Commander calling for Inspector.”

Shen responded immediately.

“Inspector here. What is it?”

“Esteemed Guild Leader, what do we do now? Do we kill off the quest targets now?”

After a few seconds of silence, Shen answered.

“… NO.”

…

Chen Xiaolian’s decision to split from the team took everyone by surprise.

However, Chen Xiaolian displayed a very firm stance toward the decision.

He waited for around 20 minutes for Roddy to arrive and meet up with them. Then, after exchanging some simple words with Roddy, he decided to leave.

“Why?” Lun Tai stood at the doorway to block Chen Xiaolian. He looked at the others and lowered his voice as he said, “Xiaolian! Do you have some special reasons? Or is there some secrets that you cannot tell us?”

Chen Xiaolian took a deep breath and said, “I really have a speculation that I want to go verify. Additionally, considering how this second phase prohibits participants from killing each other, I think it won’t be too dangerous.”

“But you are the Guild Leader! How can you split up and go alone in the middle of an instance dungeon?” Lun Tai’s voice was very serious.

“I have… … special reasons.” Chen Xiaolian hesitated for a bit. But in the end, he chose not to elaborate further. “From now on, you are in command. Prepare to move out. After I am done with the matters on my end, I will quickly catch up to you. Just make sure to stay in contact through the guild channel.”

“… … …” Lun Tai cast a deep and tangled look at Chen Xiaolian.

In the end, he chose not to say anything else.

After having fought side by side, Lun Tai understood Chen Xiaolian’s character.

He was not someone who would mess around. Rather, he was a very responsible person, perhaps even too responsible.

Leaving the team and going alone seemed like a very muddle-headed move. Additionally, he was unwilling to explain too much – even so, Lun Tai strongly believed that Chen Xiaolian must have some special reasons for doing so.

Since he was unwilling to talk about it…

“All right.” Lun Tai took a deep breath himself. “I am willing to trust you. However, after this instance dungeon is over, we will need to have a proper chat. I hope you can give us a reasonable explanation to us all after this instance dungeon is over.”

“All right,” Chen Xiaolian replied with a wry smile.

Roddy and Qiao Qiao came over as well.

“Just what shenanigans are you up to this time?” asked Roddy with a frown.

“I will explain everything to you all when we get back.” Chen Xiaolian made a gesture to Roddy. Although Roddy did not get what Chen Xiaolian meant, he understandingly chose not to pursue the matter. Roddy trusted Chen Xiaolian way more compared to Lun Tai.

Qiao Qiao, on the other hand, came bluntly. She did not ask him why he wanted to leave their team and move out alone. Rather, she made a straightforward request. “I am going with you.”

“… … …” Chen Xiaolian was distressed.

Qiao Qiao furrowed her brows. “Can I not?”

“Stay here with everyone else and protect Will. Our team needs your strength. As for me… … there really is a special reason for this. If you leave with me, then the amount of strength left for Will’s protection will be decreased.”

Qiao Qiao looked at Chen Xiaolian curiously. “You… are you going to do something very dangerous?”

“Roddy!” Chen Xiaolian did not explain further. After calling Roddy, he cast a solemn look at him. “After I leave, you will be a core battle strength! When the time comes, do not hesitate. If there is a need to use the Floater, then use the Floater. And if there is a need to use the Mech, then use it! Don’t try to hold anything back!”

“Understood!”

“I will catch up to you all soon.”

After saying that, Chen Xiaolian stopped looking at Qiao Qiao. He turned around and left through the door.

Qiao Qiao bit down hard on her lips and hesitated for a moment before choosing not to give chase.

“Guild Leader is acting very strange,” Xia Xiaolei suddenly whispered out. “He… seems to be in a hurry. Just now, I noticed him checking his watch three times in the span of 10 minutes.”

Lun Tai’s eyes flickered. But he simply shook his head and said, “Enough! We will be following the Guild Leader’s orders! Now, use 10 minutes to make preparations. After that, we will be heading out to Tel Aviv. At the same time, I will be announcing our combat plan. If anyone blocks our way, I will be responsible for attacking while Qiao Qiao and Xia Xiaolei will be responsible for securing our two sides! Qimu Xi!”

Qimu Xi instantly shuddered.

“Your performance in the first phase made me very disappointed,” said Lun Tai is a very solemn manner. “Although you are a girl, this game, this instance dungeon will not give you any preferential treatment because of that! We will help you, but if you want to live, you will need to be courageous and work hard at it yourself! We are now part of the same guild, so I hope you can contribute your strength to the guild as well! Understand? Remember my words: In the middle of battle, showing more fear would only kill you faster!”

Qimu Xi forced herself to stand and nod her head vigorously.

“When we get on the jeep, you will be in charge of securing the rear.”

…

Chen Xiaolian had already made his way out of the floor of the hotel and he swiftly disappeared into the cross intersection in the streets.

Qiao Qiao watched Chen Xiaolian leave through the window of the second floor, a look of worry on her face.

…

After making his way over the cross intersection, Chen Xiaolian further increased his pace!

He seemed to be in a hurry.

Actually, it did not seem like it, it was simply the truth!

After receiving the quest to head to Tel Aviv, he also received a separate system prompt in his personal system.

[System prompt: Fallen Avenger phase (2/5) activating. In 60 minutes, the Fallen Avenger will enter the instance dungeon to search and kill the host.

[First condition: Kill off the Fallen Avenger to end this search and kill phase.

[Second condition: Survive for 180 minutes and the search and kill phase will end.]

He had received this prompt back when he was in the room.

And now…

Chen Xiaolian looked at the countdown for the Fallen Avenger’s activation.

There were 38 more minutes.

“Damn you, Lancelot!” He swore vehemently. Seeing a car parked beside the street, he moved over, pulled open the car door through brute force, and started it up. Then, he pulled out a map to get his bearings. After that, he drove the car forward…

180 minutes of search and kill?

Chen Xiaolian sneered to himself.

Back in the punishment instance dungeon, he was like a mouse crossing a street. Lancelot’s ghost hunted him down to the point where there was no escape for him. Now however, after the Blood Verdict, and after so many days of comprehending Skyblade’s power, Chen Xiaolian believed that he will not end up as miserable as he did last time.

Thus, he intended to give it a go.

180 minutes?

No, within one hour, I will counter attack and kill off the Fallen Avenger!

To launch a counter attack and kill the Fallen Avenger within an hour was quite risky in his opinion and he was not too confident about it. Thus, he needed to leave the others so that there was some distance between his team and this dangerous Fallen Avenger. No one in his team had any ability to stop the Fallen Avenger.

There was also another reason why Chen Xiaolian wanted to split up.

Back in the first phase, he had noticed a certain minute detail. Although it was quite the absurd conjecture, he wanted to go verify it.

Chen Xiaolian drove the car with a clear goal in mind. He headed toward a certain address.

It was the address of one of the four people whose names were Will Ritz Beyliah.

…