Foolish play of the gods

Chapter 9: Vomit—— · What do you think about when time stops? · If we could extract the thoughts of every reader out there, we’d probably have enough material to write a book. · Actually, that book already exists in the real world. It’s called the Penal Code. · In reality, when time stops, you can’t think at all. · Consciousness is anchored in existence, and the essence of Existence is Time. · When time freezes, existence vanishes, consciousness fades, and a person loses all faculty for thought, turning into nothing more than a statue of flesh and blood. · It’s a terrifying experience because those trapped in temporal stasis might feel as if they’ve died. · Then again, perhaps it isn’t that scary at all—because the person isn’t even aware that time has stopped. · An unknown period passed. To Cheng Shi and the others, it might have been a flash; to the Terror Demons, it was perhaps a lifetime... · As the effects of Area Fast-Forward gradually faded, Song Yawen, hiding behind Cheng Shi, felt his consciousness slowly sharpen. · The moment his ability to think returned, he felt the ultimate blooming of death. · The corpses of Terror Demons rained down from above, their bloodless, rotten meat and countless tentacles flooding into the small pocket of clean space that remained. · The stench of the deceased hit him like a physical wall, thick as gel, making Song Yawen’s spirit shudder from the depths of his soul. · What level of Death domain is this? · Does a Death domain of this caliber even exist?? · If someone dropped an ultimate skill here, wouldn't they just summon the true God of Death??? · After his triple-shot of shock, Song Yawen didn't waste a second. He remembered Cheng Shi’s words vividly: his strike would be the key to their salvation. · Watching the tentacle monsters—now with no more flesh to consume—undulating frantically toward the six of them, Song Yawen took a deep breath. His eyes instantly turned pitch black. · Harvest State: Active! · He reached out with his hands and gripped his own throat in a death vice. · With a sickening crack, he ruthlessly snapped his own neck. · The standing "corpse" of Song Yawen began to dissipate. The dense death energy in the air instantly reached a boiling point; a phantom wind howled, and green light flared. In the blink of an eye, a massive black scythe, carrying an aura of world-ending destruction, manifested above their heads. · Cheng Shi and the others had just regained their senses. Looking up at the colossal scythe of death suspended above them, their breath caught in their throats. · Big. · It was too big. · They had never seen a scythe of death so terrifying. Even the small skull ornament at the base of the handle looked like a monolith carved from a mountain. · The blade itself, shimmering with an eerie green glow, looked like a razor sharp enough to slice through planets. · Even back at the Agency with his 2100 rating, Cheng Shi had never seen a scythe of this magnitude! · Only one thought occupied his mind now: he prayed Song Yawen wouldn't lose his mind and send them all to the afterlife together. · "Souls find rest, life reaches its end! Funeral rites, Harvest!" · As an ethereal prayer thundered through the air, the massive scythe swung down, accompanied by the whispers of the dead. · Aside from the small patch of ground where the group stood, the entire visible ruins shattered in an instant. · Like a mirror breaking, spiderweb cracks tore through the world. · And then... · One after another, sighs of those embracing death rose up, echoing across the sky. The massive tentacle monsters, bloated from gorging on flesh, closed their eyes as if falling into a peaceful slumber. · Death is rarely a world-shaking event. · The moment the scythe fell, their fires of life were quietly extinguished. · The man died; the scythe vanished. · The entire process took only seconds. · But before the rising aura of the dead could dissipate, the energy twisted and gathered once more, reconstituting the Song Yawen who should have been "dead." · He fell from the air, gasping for breath and drenched in sweat. The moment he hit the ground, he collapsed into the blood-stained filth, his body twitching uncontrollably. · Nangong, acting on her healer’s instincts, moved to pull him up. But as soon as her hand touched Song Yawen’s wrist, she realized his body was exceptionally healthy—his status was peaking, as if he were in top form. · His twitching wasn't exhaustion from a desperate ultimate move; it was a post-climactic rush of pure excitement. · "Holy shit... holy shit..." · "I think I saw the face of my Lord. I saw Him sitting on a throne of bone, handing me a massive scythe." · "Holy shit—" · "Cheng Shi, you're a freaking genius!!!" · He panted heavily, struggling to crawl up while his limbs flailed. · "Just this one hit... My whole life was worth it for this..." · Cheng Shi gave a faint smile at the words, while Nangong dropped Song Yawen’s hand with a look of utter disgust. · Chen Chong and Cao Sansui were still lost in the shock of that world-shaking scythe strike. It wasn't until the melting flesh of the Terror Demons and the dead tentacles threatened to submerge them that Chen Chong finally stood up, dragging the half-dead Cao Sansui with him. · "Is it... over?" · He still couldn't believe it. So many Terror Demons, such a massive army—all gone, just like that? · What the hell had just happened? · Seeing Chen Chong’s inquisitive gaze, Cheng Shi grinned. · "Don't think about it. You don't want to know. Besides, it’s not over. If the right wing of the skeletal army doesn't report in, they’ll likely send others to investigate. We need to leave, fast." · He grabbed Xia Wan, who was struggling on the ground, and pointed at the protrusions on her belly, calves, and back. His tone turned serious. · "Our combat power is severely crippled. Cao Sansui, Nangong, and Xia Wan are all out of the fight. The guys are one thing, but Xia Wan needs immediate treatment. We need to retreat and find a place to regroup." · Song Yawen was still riding the high of his world-ending strike. Hearing Cheng Shi’s urgency, he blurted out, "Don't we still have you?" · Cheng Shi, with Xia Wan on his back, looked at him with a darkened expression. · "I’m a 1500-rated healer. What am I supposed to do?" · "???" · Song Yawen stood there, jaw dropped. He pointed at the hellish carnage around them and stammered, "You... you... this whole... didn't you do all this?" · His voice went up an octave. "If you're only a 1500, I'll cut my head off and let you kick it like a soccer ball." · Chen Chong’s face also darkened. He hoisted Cao Sansui onto his back and pulled Nangong along, heading out without hesitation. He thought to himself: This guy is definitely powerful, but he loves showing off way too much. It’s annoying. · What’s even more annoying is that he pulls it off every single time! · The winner's banter wasn't truly grating, but the environment wouldn't allow them to linger. The group struggled forward, trudging through the muddy ruins soaked in blood, heading east. · When they were standing in the center of the Death domain, the feeling wasn't quite as visceral. Only as they stepped out of that slaughterhouse of meat did they truly realize what Cheng Shi had done. · Chunks of meat, mangled corpses, slime, black blood. · It was as if the group had walked into a museum exhibiting every possible form and state of blood and flesh imaginable. It challenged the limits of the imagination—and the gag reflex of any normal human. · The scene defied further description. · This single event had given the five of them a brand-new understanding of Nurturing. · This was supposed to be an Ordinal God? · Even Xia Wan, a follower of Nurturing, looked at the revolting scene and couldn't help but... · "Blergh—" · Nangong was the first to lose it. · She was already weak from her self-mutilation. As her legs dragged through the mire of flesh and the stench of decay flooded her nose, it didn't feel like a divine sign of Corruption—it was just pure, stomach-turning nausea. · Once the first shot was fired, the situation spiraled out of control. · "Blergh— Hurrrk—" · No one could hold it back anymore. · Especially Chen Chong. In his rush to escape this hellscape, he was vomiting while running, with a person on his back vomiting, and a person he was pulling also vomiting. This triple chorus of retching hammered at his ears, pushing him to the brink of a breakdown. · "Xia Wan, you have to hold it in. This is my Lord’s handiwork, it’s a sign for you—" · "Blergh—" · "..." · Cheng Shi felt a sudden warmth on his shoulder, and his face twitched. · "Your mother... she must be so proud of you..." · Xia Wan, enduring the violent thrashing of the "lives" being "nurtured" within her, said weakly, "My mother is dead... she offered herself to Corruption..." · "Oh... well..." · Cheng Shi felt a pang of regret for his big mouth. I’m such a prick... · "Instead of my mother, you should probably worry about my daughter," she added breathlessly. "I think she’s about to be born..." · Cheng Shi’s face went pale. He bellowed toward the front: · "Chen Chong, get ready! Xia Wan’s going into labor!" · [END]