Chapter 87

An hour later.

Wu Xiaode had already flown beyond the coastline, soaring over the vast sea.

According to the navigation, he should be almost there.

He looked around and indeed saw a rugged, rocky island.

Is this the place?

Wu Xiaode took out his phone and glanced at it.

Yes, this is the place.

He landed, transformed back into human form, and looked around.

The entire island was only as big as a soccer field, with nothing but a pile of rocks.

Strange.

This is the place!

The Book of the Dead automatically flipped open, revealing a map.

Sure enough, it was this island.

On the back of the island, there was a prominent red mark, with text beside it:

"The red mark is the location of the last safe house underground. Its access code is:"

"734876x34235sg12p"

"Locker password: d76892v19652537"

"Safe house coordinates: 32°20'N, 64°45'W;"

"Underground: 135.12 meters."

Yes, the target is 135.12 meters underground!

But how do I get down there?

He walked around the island and found the location of the red mark.

Clearing away the pile of rocks, Wu Xiaode suddenly discovered a rusty iron door hidden beneath.

The iron door was embedded in the ground, tightly shut, and it was unclear how to open it.

On the iron door was a microphone icon, which had become somewhat blurred over time.

Wu Xiaode looked up at the Book of the Dead.

Access code...

He cleared his throat and said, "734876x34235sg12p."

He waited for a moment.

Rumble—

The iron door automatically opened, revealing a dilapidated passage leading downward.

Wu Xiaode walked in.

The iron door immediately closed behind him.

Boom!

Echoes resounded for a while before finally settling.

It was dark.

Complete darkness.

Wu Xiaode released a Silent Mist, and under its cover, he continued to walk downward.

Soon, he arrived at a corridor.

Along the corridor were a long row of lockers, and further ahead was another iron door.

Lockers...

Wu Xiaode walked to the row of lockers and tapped "Retrieve" on the interface.

A keyboard quickly appeared, prompting him to enter the password.

Wu Xiaode glanced at the Book of the Dead and quickly entered the password:

d76892v19652537.

—He wondered how the officer spirits had obtained these passwords.

Beep!

The locker made a sound.

Click!

The door of one locker popped open.

Inside, there was a badge and a letter.

Wu Xiaode took out the letter and opened it. It was written on a blank page torn from a book:

"We won't live much longer."

"To fight this despair, today, we all worked together to kill a 'Participant,' and we even tore his soul apart."

"Everyone except me chose to commit suicide."

"—To keep the secret."

"Because this is the only hope."

"I am responsible for placing the 'Participant' badge here for future generations."

"As a spirit mage, I will preserve my soul and try to select a suitable candidate from among the human Awakened."

"If you see this letter, it means I chose you."

"Go, and see the truth of this world."

"If you can, please do something."

"Even—"

"For yourself."

"PS: Wear the 'Participant' badge, and it will activate its power by consuming 1 soul point per minute."

"It will let everyone know you are a 'Participant.'"

Wu Xiaode reached out and took the badge, examining it closely in his palm.

It was a square badge, somewhat like a phone, but only as long as a finger and as wide as two fingers.

On the badge, it displayed:

"Current scene: School."

"User: Starlight Empire."

School?

What does this mean?

Wu Xiaode pinned the badge to his chest.

Almost instantly, several lines of ice crystal text appeared in the Book of the Dead:

"You have consumed 1 soul point to activate the 'Participant' badge."

"Current soul points: 3/11."

"You are a 'Participant.'"

"Now you can enter that iron door."

Wu Xiaode paused for a moment, then walked to the iron door and pushed it open.

Bang!

The door closed behind him.

Wu Xiaode found himself standing in a classroom of a school.

There were about seven or eight people standing around.

One person was sitting on the podium, a cigar in his mouth, his legs crossed.

He had a full beard, with cold and fierce eyes.

In front of him, a young man, covered in blood, was being held down by two people, kneeling on the ground, moaning in pain.

The young man was clearly tortured, with no good flesh left on his body.

When Wu Xiaode appeared, everyone looked at him.

"He's a Participant," someone said.

"Ah, it's one of us, so we don't need to worry about him. Let's continue," the man on the podium said, flicking the ash from his cigar.

Everyone's attention returned to the young man.

"I'm really... just a high school student... why are you beating me..."

The young man, tears streaming down his face, said in an innocent and pained voice.

He was spitting out blood, clearly on the verge of death.

—He was even wearing a school uniform.

Everyone around him burst into laughter.

"Ha ha ha, he says he's a high school student!"

"Did you hear that!"

"Wow, this Sin Prison is really interesting. He actually believes he's a high school student!"

Wu Xiaode didn't want to seem out of place, so he laughed loudly as well.

The Book of the Dead opened before his eyes:

"You have consumed 1 soul point to activate the 'Participant' badge."

"Current soul points: 2/11."

"You are a 'Participant.'"

So quickly, a minute had passed!

Wu Xiaode felt a bit nervous.

A crow quietly appeared on his shoulder and whispered, "Be very careful. These people are not ordinary. If I replenish your soul points here, they will immediately sense it."

"Understood," Wu Xiaode said.

The current minute had already started.

After this minute, there were two more minutes.

He had to figure out what was happening and find a way to avoid these people within three minutes.

Everyone laughed for a while.

The man on the podium stroked his beard, seeming a bit bored, and waved his hand.

"We've beaten him enough and tortured him enough. Let's quickly awaken his power and take it."

"Good idea, but once his power is awakened, the Sin Prison's punishment mechanism will activate," someone said.

"It's just money. I'll pay—go, awaken his power," the bearded man said.

Everyone gradually became serious.

Four powerful men stepped forward, surrounding the young man, and began chanting long incantations.

The bearded man whispered:

"Alfonso, you cruel king, I will now take your former power and use it to build my own empire."

The incantation was completed.

The young man remained kneeling on the ground.

But a brilliant light suddenly burst from his body, enveloping him.

He fell into a daze.

A moment passed.

Two moments.

Three moments.

The young man's expression and demeanor changed.

"Phew!"

He spat out a mouthful of blood, staring at the man on the podium.

"You came to the Sin Prison to steal my power?" the young man said mockingly.

Everyone looked at each other.

"That's not right. Why did you awaken your memory?" the man asked in surprise.

The young man laughed.

"My power is so great that someone would surely covet it, so I used my last strength to seal it in my memory. Once the power is about to awaken, the memory will awaken first—"

"Your plan has failed!"

"Alfonso, because of you, the entire star fleet was destroyed. It's all your fault," the man said.

The young man laughed bitterly. "Poor little boy, how are you all doing now? Have you found a sense of justice in slavery?"

Slap!

He was slapped.

The man roared, "The Starlight Empire did conquer us, but our lives are much better now—your father and sister wouldn't have died in battle if you hadn't opposed them so strongly. It's all your fault!"

The young man's eyes were heavy. "Let me guess, can you now freely buy and sell organs? Are all kinds of mind-altering drugs no longer banned? Can people sell their dignity to work as low-level workers in the Starlight Empire? The country's mineral veins are all controlled by the Starlight Empire? Let me tell you, you are finished."

"Shut up! At least we are still alive, while you are in the Sin Prison!" the man shouted.

"My only mistake was being too confident when I was besieged," the young man said coldly, "and you betrayed everyone to gain temporary safety—maybe you can fool yourself, but one day, you will know the fate of a dog."

"Go! Strip his power away!" the man shouted.

Seven or eight men moved forward, each holding a strange device, ready to put it on the young man.

"No way," the young man said calmly.

He stood still.

Puff!

Streams of blood spurted from his body.

The young man slowly lowered his gaze.

His eyes were full of disdain as he looked at everyone, and he spoke his last word:

"Fools."

His head hit the ground heavily.

He was dead.

A moment of silence.

Several men looked at each other, panicked. "Sir, we didn't have time..."

"Forget it, he would rather die than give up his power," the man stood up from the podium, bored. "The demons will be using this place soon. Let's go."

"Killing Alfonso should satisfy the Starlight Empire," someone said.

"Of course, someone is specifically watching this."

"It's a perfect completion."

Everyone quickly agreed.

Their figures gradually faded, disappearing from the classroom.

One minute left!

Wu Xiaode walked to the young man's headless body and examined him closely.

The soul in this body seemed to be that of a high-ranking ruler of a human civilization!

Even such a person was imprisoned in the Sin Prison.

Tsk.

Then, who am I?

Wu Xiaode paused for a moment, shook his head, and suddenly remembered something else.

This is a parallel world three years in the future.

When I return to my world—

Can I find him in our world first?

Such a person, once awakened, would have immense power.

Humans need Awakened ones!

Wu Xiaode immediately began searching the young man's body.

The Book of the Dead displayed a countdown in ice crystal text:

"15 seconds left!"

"Please note."

"14 seconds left!"

"13,"

"12,"

"11,"

"10,"

Wu Xiaode's hand emerged from the young man's pocket.

He found a piece of paper.

It read:

"Teacher Zhang:"

"I am unwell and need to take a day off to see a doctor. Please approve."

"Student: Li Kunlun."

"Class: Senior 3, Class 5."

Great!

This is it!

Wu Xiaode took the note and ran back to the iron door, pushed it open, and walked out.

Time's up!

Bang!

The iron door closed tightly.