Chapter 6: Rewards

From the very moment Gu Xi entered the main hall, Chen Kong felt that his plan had succeeded. From the start, he had used a strange voice to lure her into the back mountain. Even without Gu Xi, on every full moon, Chen Kong would devour the body of an unawakened child within the academy to sustain his current form. He hated—hated that Gu Xi was born with innate talent. Hated that even in the womb, she could detect his superior genes. Hated that she had been prepared to strangle him before birth. Hated that she could still receive her parents’ love even after burning down her family. This forced him into hiding in this back mountain. Over the past two hundred years, he had slowly grown from a tiny ghostly infant to his current size, pouring in endless effort. The last time Gu Xi escaped, it was during childhood; the second Gu Xi entered the academy but never reached his hideout, leaving the immobilized Chen Kong no choice but to endure. After all these years, he finally tricked her here through Gu Cheng! It seemed dispersing some energy to create an illusion was truly necessary. Though this illusion cost him at least ten years of genetic evolution, it was worth it now. To better serve him, Chen Kong created illusionary memories for Gu Cheng every time he devoured ten children. This cycle, he was determined to consume Gu Xi completely. His mind burning with past humiliation, he grabbed Gu Xi in one swift motion. With his current size, holding Gu Xi was as effortless as a person pinching a tiny kitten. Gu Xi had been able to resist Gu Cheng somewhat, but suddenly Chen Kong yanked her up into the air. Without the slightest defense, she was captured. “Let me go!” Gu Xi struggled, pushing against the disgusting creature’s fingers, trying to crawl away. Below, Gu Xi’s mother almost rushed forward but was stopped by Gu Cheng. Gu Cheng quickly reassured her parents, “Auntie, you must trust Master Chen Kong. Although she’s in pain now, it will pass soon. Look at me—I was cured by Master Chen Kong. He is a god; you have to believe in him.” Hearing this, Gu Xi’s mother gave up resisting, allowing Chen Kong to manipulate Gu Xi. Damn it all. Gu Xi’s eyes flickered with fury as she saw her family being deceived by Gu Cheng. Just as Chen Kong opened his massive mouth, ready to swallow her whole, Gu Xi’s entire body burst into flames, transforming into a tiny fiery figure. Slowly, sparks began to shoot from her nostrils. She roared, attempting to blow fire into Chen Kong’s mouth to burn him. Chen Kong winced in pain and waved his other hand, extinguishing the flames. Seeing this tactic was useless, Gu Xi grew more desperate, struggling harder and harder. Suddenly, Chen Kong laughed uproariously. Watching Gu Xi thrash about like this only made him more smug. Gu Xi, seeing his laughter, felt the blood trickle further from the corner of her eye and was overwhelmed with disgust. Calm down. She told herself, spraying fire into his mouth was ineffective, indicating his mouth was not a weak point. She couldn’t break free from his large hand either. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. Finding a weakness in this colossal beast was no simple task. As Chen Kong’s laughter ceased, the bleeding in his eye slowed. “The eyes!” Gu Xi seized this lifeline. Gathering strength, she pulled her hand back, summoning every ounce of power from her arm, and struck at Chen Kong’s bloodshot eye. Before he could react, the fiery glow from her fist burned his eye. Instinctively, he raised both hands to shield his eyes. In that moment, Chen Kong’s massive palm slammed her to the ground. “As expected,” Gu Xi smirked—a weak spot was confirmed! Ignoring the sharp pain from the fall, she scrambled to her feet swiftly and set the fire at Chen Kong’s feet ablaze. Chen Kong was unable to rise, tormented by the flames, utterly defenseless. Seizing the moment, Gu Xi intensified the fire and dashed wildly out of the hall. Everything she passed caught fire. Soon, the entire interior of the hall was consumed by flames. At this moment, she no longer cared about her parents trapped within the game. Being deceived into this place had already made her deeply uncomfortable. Reason must overcome emotion. She burst out of the hall, abandoning even her boat, plunging headfirst into the water and swimming swiftly to shore. The flames on her body extinguished as she submerged. Gasping for breath on the shore, she looked back toward the back mountain with mixed feelings. Just then, distant children’s voices called out, “Gu Xi… Gu Xi… why have you come to the back mountain?” Gu Xi recognized them—they were the same little brother and sister she had met when first entering the game. “What the hell? Has time looped?” Chills ran down her spine. At that moment, a voice from the system sounded. [Congratulations, host. You have completed the ‘Resurrect Parents’ task and successfully activated: Robust Physique (Basic).] The system’s notification brought a sudden, drastic change to her surroundings. Nearby, Su Chen sat on a chair, watching Gu Xi freeze in place. He was halfway through lighting a cigarette, having just sat down to rest. Suddenly, Gu Xi moved. “That fast???” Su Chen was amazed—he had never seen anyone escape the experiment in under three minutes. After a painful cry, Gu Xi returned to reality. She touched her chest, steadying herself as she took in her surroundings, feeling relieved. Su Chen stood and waved his hand in front of Gu Xi’s eyes. “You… you didn’t mention the aftereffects were this strong.” Gu Xi furrowed her brow, trying to calm her racing heart. “You’ve got something special. You’re the first I’ve seen escape so quickly,” Su Chen remarked, noting that the glow from his earring had ceased. Then Su Chen noticed the pattern on Gu Xi’s arm. “You brought something out from the game?” he asked, pointing at the flaming gray tattoo covering her arm. Gu Xi hadn’t noticed that her sleeve had burned away, revealing the mark. She realized this pattern was the fire she had unleashed in her battle against Chen Kong. Her origin was strangely terrifying. Though she didn’t understand why the system wanted her to kill Chen Kong, the fact she could control fire was already astonishing. “You’re the first to bring awakened skills from the game into reality, Gu Xi.” Su Chen’s eyes displayed information about her. [Gu Xi, Experiment Number 042.] [Pre-experiment identity: Unknown.] “How do you know my name?” Gu Xi asked, puzzled and still trembling from the ordeal she had just endured.