9
In this city of sin, more and more players were gathering. At that moment, the whole world’s attention was fixed on me.
I imagined they were saying things like:
“Who’s that?”
“No idea.”
“Wow, they’re not scared of anything. That’s so cool.”
Ha ha. I chuckled softly.
The demon glanced over.
I said, “I was thinking of something funny.”
Seeing that the crowd had gathered, he finally picked up the pace and stepped into a scrap shop called Crossroads.
He asked me, “Do you know why I don’t keep the Malice Ticket myself?”
I shook my head. “No idea.”
He opened the cyberbrain interface in the corner of the room. “Because it hasn’t fully matured yet. From the moment each Malice Ticket comes into being, it’s destined to weather blood and slaughter. Now I’m handing this ticket over to you. Are you brave enough to take it?”
If it had to be plugged into a brain, I really didn’t dare take it.
He laughed. “Don’t say I never gave you a chance.”
He picked up the bulky interface and plugged it into his own brain. “This is the real reason I turned into an immortal!”
Electricity and information flooded into him.
I knew I’d been tricked.
He wanted to kill three birds with one stone: get the ticket, reap the benefits, and have me serve as a free bodyguard.
I looked at Morgan Turner.
Morgan shook his head, as if to say it wasn’t time yet.
I sensed a tremendous wave of malice awakening.
“Warning: New content pack—Mechanical Soul Disaster—is updating. Players and NPCs in Cyber Kowloon, please take note.”
The demon’s blue pupils turned red, and cables wrapped tightly around his whole body.
The components in the scrap shop were sucked into him.
Morgan said, “We need to get out of here.”
I nodded and headed for the door.
A crowd had gathered in the narrow alley.
They looked at me.
I raised both hands. “I don’t have the ticket.”
A few people still pointed their guns at me, but most were staring at Crossroads.
They started talking:
One person said, “I have a feeling something huge is about to show up in there.”
Another argued, “Your hunch was confirmed by the announcement five minutes ago.” The short man asked, “Why didn’t we attack while the BOSS was transforming?”
The tall, skinny man replied, “Good question. Do you know why we even came here?”
I moved to the edge of the crowd. I’d already started to guess where the Malice Ticket came from.
This was a way to "ascend to godhood."
Maybe the tech zombie virus from before was also a kind of ticket.
I looked at Morgan Turner. If he went on a rampage, he could probably get a Malice Ticket too.
But that wasn’t what I wanted. Morgan shouldn’t become a killing machine.
I hoped he could stay as carefree as Alex Parker.
Boom!
A blinding light burst out from Crossroads.
The shockwave from the explosion sent the players at the scene flying.
I slammed into a wall, my whole body aching, my mind fuzzy.
At that moment, I felt Alex Parker lick me. Gradually, the pain faded away.
I opened my eyes. Everything around me was in ruins.
The demon stood in the center, his outer shell torn and battered but still thick.
He laughed maniacally, a sound I’d never heard before. “So this is what power feels like!”
“Announcement: Cyber Kowloon has officially entered the content pack—Mechanical Soul Disaster.”
10
This scene looked like something straight out of an apocalypse movie.
Scrap robots and cyborgs buried underground suddenly came back to life.
They weren’t afraid of death—they were emotionless monsters. Even if they were just spare parts, they reassembled themselves.
And the demon controlled everything, standing not far from me. Countless Mechanical Souls crawled up from the ground, grotesque, baring their fangs and claws.
Gunfire rained down from all sides. Buildings were blown apart, trembling on the verge of collapse.
Luckily, I was in decent shape. With Morgan Turner protecting me, I was safe and sound.
My heart pounded. I’d never seen anything this thrilling in my life.
Suddenly, I felt like I’d rushed into this trip a little too quickly.
I said to Morgan Turner, “I never thought an SSS-level dungeon would get this intense.”
Morgan Turner nodded. “Don’t be scared, Jordan Cooper. With Alex Parker and me here, even if you die and there’s nothing left of you, I’ll bring your soul back.” I let out a noncommittal "uh-huh." "Just make sure you bring me back in one piece."
After more than twenty years in this body, I was pretty satisfied with it—I had no desire to swap for another.
Just then, a few laser beams sliced by, shearing off a corner of a building.
A massive mechanical crab, as tall as a five-story building, was rampaging through the area.
Of course, aside from weaklings like me, most of the players here could still put up a fight.
Ninety percent of the people in this zone had mechanical bodies.
Morgan Turner kept leading me through walls and alleys, and with Alex Parker by my side, my exhaustion faded away.
Alex Parker really was strong.
Before I could marvel at that, I realized we were surrounded.
Morgan Turner said, "We can't go too far. If we do, we won't be able to fight for the Malice Ticket."
That was true.
That was our real goal.
The BOSS here was a total maniac—nothing like the Fairy Tale Dungeon Boss at all.
But then again, I hadn't even reached the core of the Fairy Tale Dungeon.
They're both SSS-level, so the difficulty can't be that different.
An afternoon passed, and finally, this disaster started to slow down.
The Malice Ticket must be about to take shape.
Morgan Turner said, "Let's go—we're going to steal it!"
The demon stood motionless, his body growing more and more solid, trembling with wild excitement.
Players gathered around.
Their numbers had dropped a lot.
Some had escaped, some had died. The ones left—besides being lucky—were all elites.
Morgan Turner, Alex Parker, and I stood off to the side, close to the core zone.
I asked, "Do we have a plan?"
Morgan Turner said, "You and Alex Parker stay here. I'll go steal it. With Alex Parker keeping you healed, you're probably tougher than Wolverine."
I pulled out my broom. "The boss gave me four divine artifacts—maybe they'll come in handy."
He nodded. "They will, but not much."
With that bit of reassurance, the situation reached its final moment.
The players unleashed everything they had, and in the hail of bullets, a shadow shot up to the front.
At this point, the demon was too focused to care about anything else. As long as he could condense the Malice Ticket, he'd make it to the final day. Just a little bit more.
His bodyguards surrounded him.
He was confident that he could "ascend" during this time.
"The Malice Ticket is mine!"
A nimble player, riding a hoverboard, zipped past the web of flames and reached the demon.
But mechanical arms, like octopus tentacles, surged in from all directions—an inescapable net.
At that moment, I spread a cloth on the ground.
I took out the little fish I had: "Alex Parker, one for you, one for me."
Alex Parker rubbed against my hand and curled up on top of me.
Honestly, I wasn't too obsessed with whether Morgan Turner got the Malice Ticket or not.
Like the boss said, as long as the green hills remain, there’s no need to worry about firewood.
When it comes to finding the BOSS, you can't be too stubborn. If something's impossible, you have to let someone stronger handle it.
I was just thinking how nice a hot cup of tea would be, when suddenly, a black blur shot over. Then came the demon's furious roar.
A barrage of firepower followed.
"Jordan Cooper, catch! Only one person can use this ticket!"
I let out an "Ah!" and reflexively caught the ticket. Seeing the hail of bullets coming my way, I chose to use it.
In that split second, I felt my soul leave my body, as if I’d left Earth behind.
"God created the world in seven days."
"On the first day, God was dissatisfied with endless darkness and created light."
"On the second day, God created the air, dividing heaven and earth."
...
"Today is the final day. God has decided to destroy the world."
12
"Welcome to the Final Gathering. As the holder of the Malice Ticket, you will meet the God of this world."
"Your final mission is to present a plan to destroy the world."
"Complete the mission, and your reward will be multiplied by seven, and you’ll be able to leave the dungeon."