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Chapter 968: Resistance is Futile

The players trapped inside the game were very simple. They couldn’t return to real life, so their identities and wealth in real life meant nothing. They worked towards the same goal. Humans were strange and curious. They would harm others for the sake of happiness but would sacrifice themselves to save others in despair.

Without external factors, Perfect Life became a pure ‘game’. They risked their lives to save the nightmare. Huang Yin was the first rescue team to enter the game. There would be more in the future.

With the crowd cheering, Huang Yin and Deep Space Tech’s team reached the central pavilion. They got updated and then revealed Deep Space Tech’s rescue plan. The internal members of Deep Space Tech would enter the nightmare to research it. They would restore communication with the outside world. That was the first step. Deep Space Tech’s real plan was to activate the backdoors they had left in the game. When the channels were stable, they would attempt to send the players out of the game. Deep Space Tech didn’t hide anything that had happened in real life.

The info war between the three criminal organizations and Deep Space Tech had reached an end. A lot of hackers were exposed and arrested. The scale was tipping.

Han Fei had no idea whether they were lying or not, but it did bring morale to the players. He looked at Huang Yin on stage and scratched his chin. “brother Huang’s acting has improved greatly. I wonder who he learned it from. He might become the next Best Actor before Brother Bai.”

At that moment, Han Fei suddenly received a message from his friend. He wanted to ignore it, but when he saw that it was from Shen Luo, he changed his mind.

“I’ve cleared the fifth layer and chose the normal bed. However, it seems like my game is different.”

Han Fei met up with Shen Luo at an old house. Shen Luo appeared to have aged a lot in the past few hours. He cried and blubbered.

“You’ve cleared the fifth layer so soon?” Shen Luo’s speed impressed Han Fei.

“You might not believe it, but this nightmare is targeting me!” Shen Luo shared his sad story. When he entered the first layer, the butterfly tattoo on his body was triggered. When he woke up, he was tied to an electric chair. He was covered in blood, and his head was strapped into an old device. Only his eyes were shown. Then, Shen Luo saw five players appear before him. Shen Luo started to struggle, hoping the players would save him. But the five players ran instantly. One of them even accidentally triggered the button and activated the electric chair.

Shen Luo was electrocuted, but he didn’t die. The chair was deactivated. Shen Luo tried to escape with his weakened body. Actually, Shen Luo didn’t know why he was escaping. Since the other players were running, then there had to be a danger. He wanted to reunite with the other players, but when they saw him, they started to scream. When Shen Luo tried to chase after them, they turned around to beat up Shen Luo. They almost killed him.

The five players only left after they made sure Shen Luo was incapacitated.

Han Fei’s expression was strange after hearing Shen Luo’s description. “Normally, the first layer would be a chase with one murderer going after five players. The players need to find the key while hiding from the murderer within the time limit.”

“Then, why are there six players in my nightmare?” Shen Luo pouted.

“Your identity appears to be the murderer. The nightmare has decided you’re one of them.” Han Fei inspected Shen Luo’s body. The butterfly tattoo was hidden under his skin, and it would only appear in the grey mist.

“But didn’t you say the choice would come when I reach the fifth layer?” Shen Luo was confused. He didn’t think he was different from the other players.

“How can I put this? Every road leads to Rome, but some are born in Rome.” Han Fei hadn’t encountered something like this before. “What happened next?”

“The second layer was even stranger. I was inside a haunted house with five other players. We needed to figure out why the place was haunted. I joined them to search for clues. Then, we found out I was the ghost. The girls standing next to me instantly screamed!”

“And then?”

“I was beaten up. The players wanted to kill me, and they had the number advantage. What could I do?”

Shen Luo sighed. “Starting from the third layer, things were different. Special patterns would appear on my skin. Using these patterns I could control things within the nightmare. I could even cooperate with the ghosts and demons, but I didn’t want to do that! The demons are all killers. If they lost their mind, they would kill me. So both the players and the nightmare want to kill me.”

Han Fei thought that Shen Luo would gain aid from the nightmare, but who would have thought that even the nightmare wanted to bully Shen Luo?

“I barely survived the fourth layer. Plus, my fifth layer is different from what you told me.” Shen Luo said with confusion. “My fifth layer was a room with no window. It looked very normal.”

“That sounds about right.”

“But my room had no beds. There was only an altar.”

“An altar?” Shen Luo’s words shocked Han Fei.

Shen Luo nodded. “There was nothing unusual about the altar, but it was very familiar, like I had seen it in a dream before…”

“What do you mean?”

“Have you had these experiences where you felt like you’ve been through this before even though you were sure that you hadn’t? That was how I felt when I saw that altar.” Shen Luo was lost. “The altar was like a dream. A dream where everyone is involved.”

“And then? How did you clear that layer?” Han Fei was curious. A normal player needed to choose between humanity and dream. But since Shen Luo had part of Dream’s consciousness, he was treated as part of the nightmare.

“I wanted to open the door to see what was inside. But as I opened one gap, a blue butterfly flew out.” Shen Luo touched his right hand. “The butterfly crawled into my palm and then I was kicked out of the nightmare.”

“Is it possible that Dream really wants to cultivate you as the next butterfly?” Han Fei pondered it.

“What do you mean? I don’t want that!”

“After the blue butterfly entered your body, did you feel different?” Han Fei stared at Shen Luo like a scientist studying a new species. “After a normal player chose to side with Dream, they would enter Dream’s world. You should be their leader, so you should have more power.”

“I don’t feel anything…” Shen Luo then snapped his fingers. “On the way here, I passed by the door of Absolute Truth. Part of the butterfly surfaced on my right palm. I quickly covered it with my sleeves. I was so scared. Thinking back, I think I felt something. Yes! There was a player next to me. He might have surrendered to Dream! I was familiar with his presence!”

“The butterfly in your right hand can detect the traitors among humans?” This was a great discovery. “Come. We’ll go to Absolute Truth now!”

To verify Shen Luo’s power, Han Fei led him to Absolute Truth.

Huang Yin and the rescue team just entered the city that morning. Absolute Truth had sent most members to discuss the plan with Huang Yin. There were not that many players left in the guild. Han Fei used an excuse to enter the guild. When Huang Yin wasn’t here, the players didn’t dare to mess with Happiness Neighborhood. Now that Huang Yin was there, they were even more polite.

“Han Fei, do you need anything from us?” The base manager was Xia Chong. He was Xia Bing’s elder brother. He knew from his sister how powerful Han Fei was.

“You knew that Huang Yin came this morning. To tell you the truth, he brought more than the supplies. There are certain things that he can’t explain to the public.” Han Fei gave all the credit to Huang Yin.

“Understood.” Xia Chong moved forward. “There are only us in this room. Don’t worry. I’ll relay your message to the guild leader.”

“After the players enter the fifth layer, they can choose to side with Dream. We have one method that can verify a player’s identity.” Han Fei didn’t expose Shen Luo. “I need you to find players who have returned to this base between 7 to 7.30 am. Especially those who have cleared the fifth layer.”

Xia Chong didn’t dare to delay. He immediately gave the order. About ten minutes later, nine players appeared in the lobby. They were all over level 35.

“These are everyone.” Xia Chong whispered to Han Fei. “They are all seniors. They won’t betray us.”

“We’ll find out soon enough.”

Shen Luo and Han Fei walked past the nine players. When they passed by the ninth player, Shen Luo’s eyes widened. “Found him!”

The colorful butterfly pattern appeared on Shen Luo and the player. The player didn’t expect this to happen.

“Lee Teng, don’t move!”

“Open your menu and show us your stats!”

“No wonder all of his teammates would die whenever they went to explore the nightmare.”

Lee Teng stopped hiding. His panic disappeared, and he revealed a creepy smile. Without warning, he took out a cursed blade and stabbed the player beside him.

“Still haven’t given up?”

Lee Teng was fast, but there was something faster. Han Fei launched a kick, and the sound of bone crunching echoed through the hall. Lee Teng’s spine almost snapped.

Han Fei inspected Lee Teng’s stats. “His level is different from what you told me. Two days ago, he was level 36, but now he’s level 40.”

Lee Teng wouldn’t stop laughing. He desired murder. “You have no chance of escaping! Stop lying to yourself! Nightmare has covered everything! Haven’t you realized! Everyone is already inside the nightmare!”

Even at the last moment of his life, Lee Teng still wanted to kill. He was encouraged by Dream. Murder could bring him happiness.

“Resistance is futile! Too many people have chosen Dream. Humanity is the weakest thing in the world!” Butterfly patterns crawled all over his body. As he laughed, Lee Teng’s consciousness popped like a bubble. His body slumped. His mind and soul melted into the butterfly pattern. This was the final ending for those who served Dream. Han Fei had more questions, but Dream made sure to leave no prisoners.

After Lee Teng died, his inventory popped open. A lot of stuff from other players poured out. When the main hub was sealed, Lee Teng had already killed many people. His fast increase in level probably had to do with that.

“Dream is encouraging the players to kill each other! As long as it’s disruptive, the player will be rewarded for it!”

Perfect Life was a warm healing game, but Dream wanted to turn it into a deadly prison.