Chapter Thirty-One: The Torture of the Black Box
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After hearing what the Phantom Boss said, Li Yan wavered for a moment. But remembering that the two of them had been putting on an act together before, he decided not to believe Bu Yao.
He simply stood by and watched the spectacle.
After all, being deceived once was more than enough.
What he had not expected was that Bu Yao seemed to have anticipated that neither Li Yan nor the Cat God would believe him.
He pressed the Phantom Boss down with all his strength, then personally forced the green medicine into his mouth.
The moment the Phantom Boss swallowed it, he was consumed by agony and turned to ashes.
His heartrending screams echoed throughout the room.
Li Yan and the Cat God stared at the scene in shock. Neither of them had expected things to end this way.
Only after seeing the Phantom Boss die did Bu Yao finally breathe a sigh of relief.
He lay weakly on the ground and gave Li Yan a bitter smile.
“I’m sorry for deceiving you before. But I’m not completely heartless. I killed him so that you could escape. I know I don’t have much longer to live, and I didn’t dare disobey his orders, so I had no choice but to use this method. Thank you for saving me before.”
With that, Bu Yao began coughing violently, bringing up a great deal of blood.
After hearing his words, Li Yan was filled with regret. Why hadn’t he believed Bu Yao sooner?
Frowning, he hurried to Bu Yao’s side and held him, trying to heal him.
But Li Yan soon discovered that no matter how he tried, nothing worked.
It was as though Bu Yao’s body were protected by an invisible barrier. Li Yan’s energy could not enter him at all.
Yet Bu Yao clung tightly to his hand and said with a bitter smile, “Li Yan, stop wasting your strength. It’s useless. The restriction inside my body had already fully taken effect. This is the last thing I can do for you. I hope you won’t blame me.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Bu Yao drew his final breath and died.
His soul left his body, then dissipated completely.
Li Yan stared blankly at the sky, his heart heavy as tears slipped silently down his face.
Although Bu Yao had been a bad person, in the end he had died saving him.
The Cat God walked over, patted Li Yan on the shoulder, and said, “Don’t just stand there. For him, this is a kind of liberation. Let’s go.”
Li Yan was about to reply when a familiar voice suddenly appeared in his mind.
“Congratulations, Player Li Yan. You have unlocked the complete truth of the Apocalypse Game. You may now leave and return to your original world. Would you like to be transferred?”
After hearing this, Li Yan chose no. He still had some questions he wanted to ask the Cat God.
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Seeing Li Yan’s reaction, the Cat God immediately understood what had happened.
“Can you leave now?” he asked.
Li Yan nodded in surprise, then smiled at him. “Come on. Let’s go eat. After that, I’ll be leaving.”
Just as he was preparing to depart, Li Yan remembered that Qin Lian was still imprisoned.
He went to the portrait and released her.
After freeing her, Li Yan and the Cat God went together to the finest restaurant in that world.
They ordered a table full of dishes, along with wine.
Once everything had been served, Li Yan poured a cup for himself and one for the Cat God.
He drained his cup and said, “Thank you for saving my life today. I have no way to repay you. I only hope that in the days to come, everything will go as you wish, your cultivation will continue to advance, and every year will be as blessed as this one, with joy in every morning and evening.”
The Cat God smiled at Li Yan, emptied his own cup, then placed a piece of food in Li Yan’s bowl.
“Do your best. And once you’re out, remember to stay safe.”
Li Yan nodded, and the two of them began to eat.
After several rounds of drinking, they were both drunk.
Li Yan cautiously glanced at the Cat God and tentatively asked, “Earlier, you said you were acting on someone else’s request. Who exactly asked you?”
The Cat God’s face was flushed. At once, he became wary. After hesitating and mumbling for a while, he said, “Someone you know very well. He asked me to protect you when necessary.”
Hearing this, Li Yan became even more confused.
But before he could ask anything else, he drifted into a deep, heavy sleep.
When Li Yan woke again, he was already at home.
He gazed at his familiar bedroom, yet somehow it all felt unreal.
Am I dreaming?
Did I really come back?
Li Yan still could not quite believe it. He slapped his own face and found that it truly hurt.
Only then did he confirm that he had genuinely returned.
Li Yan was exhausted, so he simply lay there without moving.
Knock, knock, knock.
A hurried pounding suddenly sounded at the door.
Li Yan frowned, feeling rather speechless. I’ve only just returned, and someone is already disturbing me. Honestly, what a nuisance.
Reluctantly, he got out of bed and opened the door.
There was no one outside—only a black box.
Puzzled, he looked around and confirmed that there really was nobody there.
For the first time, he chose to leave the box outside untouched.
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He closed the door again.
But not long after he lay back down, the knocking sounded once more.
Extremely irritated, Li Yan opened the door again.
The same black box was still sitting outside.
He was about to ignore it and close the door once more when he noticed that a note had somehow appeared on top of the box.
It read:
“If you don’t bring the box inside, you will regret it.”
Li Yan stared at the words, utterly speechless. Who did they think they could scare with such a childish threat?
I’m someone who has already conquered the Apocalypse Game.
He paid no further attention to the box and once again chose to shut the door.
But this time, the moment the door closed, something inside the house began to feel wrong.
One strange thing after another started happening.
The lights in Li Yan’s home began flickering for no apparent reason. Then the entire room started spinning.
That was not all. Countless red eyes appeared across the ceiling.
They were all staring at Li Yan.
His scalp crawled with dread. He wanted to move, to escape, but he found himself completely unable to do so.
He stood rigidly in place. Before his eyes, a strangely shaped mass of mist appeared.
The mist slowly began to envelop him.
Li Yan trembled in fear. He wanted to shout for help, but no sound came from his throat.
All he could do was let the eerie mist swallow him.
After Li Yan was consumed by the mist, countless wounds appeared across his body, and blood poured from them.
His consciousness also began to grow hazy.
Drenched in sweat from the pain, Li Yan finally understood what the note had meant by regret.
He hurriedly said within his mind, “I’ll bring it inside. Just stop torturing me.”
He had thought that everything would return to normal after he said those words.
Instead, the torment intensified.
Li Yan suffered even more terribly.
His head began to ache, then his heart, then his eyes.
Blood started flowing from all seven orifices.
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