168: Death and death are not the same (Extra chapter added for positive reviews)

The scene on the screen quickly blurred, and when it cleared again, Gu Qinghan was cornered by a Mutated Cat at the school's water station.

After showing Gu Qinghan barely escaping the Mutated Cat with all his might, the scene changed again.

This time, Gu Qinghan in the picture was engulfed in black and red flames.

At the same time, the skeletons beside him also glowed with black and red flames, like devils emerging from hell.

They quickly slew the Mutated Cat in a few moves, then chopped off its head.

"Think about how helpless you were back then. If you had Demonic Power, wouldn't everything be different?"

"Hmm."

Gu Qinghan nodded, his eyes fixed on the screen.

The demon changed the scenes on the light screen again and again, each time showing a scenario Gu Qinghan had actually experienced.

At the same time, he would also show Gu Qinghan a comparative scene.

"Look, not long after the game started, you've already been on the brink of death so many times.

There will be more dangers in the future. Can you guarantee that you'll survive every time?"

Gu Qinghan didn't speak or express an opinion, he just continued watching the content on the light screen.

It seemed he was completely engrossed in it.

"Your soul is far stronger than those before you. You can bear more, and a more complete Demonic Power!

With this power, you can achieve everything you want to do.

In the river of time, you can go and snatch that woman back.

In fact, as long as you wish, you can have countless beauties.

Haven't you always believed that power, this thing, never distinguishes between good and evil?

What truly determines good and evil is how it is used."

The demon's voice still echoed around Gu Qinghan, but this time, it made Gu Qinghan frown.

He averted his gaze from the light screen, looking thoughtfully at those eyes, and asked:

"But, isn't this power inherently evil?

To gain immense power by sacrificing countless innocent lives seems to carry a sin no matter how it's used."

The giant light screen disappeared, but the demon's voice became even more ethereal:

"Evil? As long as you are strong enough, everything you do will not be evil.

What do other people's lives have to do with you?"

Gu Qinghan nodded, letting out a soft hum.

The enormous blood-red eyes closed, quickly transforming into a contract stained with black and red blood.

"My patience is limited. Sign this contract, and I can help you escape this place.

You will become a Contractor of a powerful demon, leading other Demon Contractors to conquer this world.

We can all gain power from death; we are friends, aren't we?"

The demon's voice carried an intense allure, and at the same time, the contract, filled with dense, obscure symbols, came before Gu Qinghan.

But just as the contract was about to touch Gu Qinghan, he suddenly took a step back.

"Alright, thank you for showing me such a different life."

Gu Qinghan regained his usual composure, smiling as he looked at the contract.

The demon's voice rang out again, but this time with a clear sense of urgency:

"What are you doing? As long as you sign the contract, you will gain supreme power!"

"With that power, I would indeed be very strong.

However, in the scenes you showed me, the Gu Qinghan in them was not me.

Other people's lives indeed have nothing to do with me, but that doesn't mean I must deprive others of their right to live to make myself better."

"You haven't experienced it, how can you be sure you wouldn't do such a thing?"

Gu Qinghan smiled upon hearing the demon's voice.

He didn't answer the question, but instead looked at the surrounding darkness and said in a very certain tone:

"This should be my mental world, right? Otherwise, you shouldn't be able to know everything I've experienced."

The demon's voice suddenly vanished without a trace, but Gu Qinghan continued to analyze:

"I have to say, the vision you painted for me was very beautiful.

But if my strength requires sacrificing countless innocent lives, I would rather not have this power.

Death and death are not entirely the same.

A person's death can be as light as a feather or as heavy as Mount Tai; you must not have heard this saying."

As Gu Qinghan's words fell, the contract before him suddenly ignited.

The burning flames were not the black and red flames, but a white flame Gu Qinghan had never seen before.

The flame made Gu Qinghan feel an extremely cold sensation, yet it burned the contract completely away.

The next moment, all the darkness receded like a tide, causing him to involuntarily close his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself still on that arena, standing on the Bear King's shoulder.

Suddenly, Gu Qinghan felt a burning sensation on his arm; the black flame mark on his arm was slowly disappearing.

It vanished from Gu Qinghan's arm without a trace, as if it had never appeared.

"What only two choices, join or die, it seems it was all a lie.

It's nothing more than going through a process of signing a soul contract with a demon; what the demon wants is just for people to fear him.

Under this dual drive of fear and immense power, their Contractors can grow more and more numerous."

Gu Qinghan thought silently, feeling fortunate for his choice.

He did not fear death; in fact, he had considered ending his own life when his parents first left.

"[Hidden Quest 'Lost Power' has been activated]"

"[Current Quest Requirement: Find one hundred Demon Contractors and eliminate them]"

"[Reward for completing stage quest: Job Change Quest activated]"

Gu Qinghan was stunned, not expecting his job change quest to require a hidden quest to activate.

His current profession was Necromancer, so what would his profession be after the job change?

Arch Necromancer?

Only now did Gu Qinghan have a chance to turn his gaze back to the previous roulette wheel, and to his surprise, the hundred-odd people were now significantly fewer.

He counted, and there were only about eighty left.

Gu Qinghan's brows immediately furrowed; had he really been negotiating with that demon for so long?

At this moment, the Masked Man seemed to have noticed Gu Qinghan's gaze, waved at him, and directed him back to his position.

Upon returning to his position, Gu Qinghan noticed that Chu Tian next to him already had a very solemn expression.

After a slight hesitation, Gu Qinghan still quietly asked:

"What's going on? Why are there so many fewer people?"

He looked around and found that about a quarter of the people in this circle had undergone different physical changes.

Gu Qinghan looked at them one by one, and they were all Demon Contractors.

If he killed all these Demon Contractors, wouldn't his quest be directly one-fifth complete?

Chu Tian glanced at Gu Qinghan and slowly began:

"During the time you were spacing out, the Masked Man pointed to several Demon Contractors in a row.

The key is that the strength of these Demon Contractors is generally stronger than Professionals.

On the other arena, more than a dozen deathmatches have already taken place.

Demon Contractors lost two matches, and won all the rest!

And I've already been pointed to a second time; my truth-or-dare opportunity has been used up."

Gu Qinghan's eyes narrowed slightly. He had originally thought this auction was to enhance the strength of the Professionals.

Now it seemed, this auction had another purpose: to filter out the Demon Contractors among these people.

As for whether the Professionals could defeat them once they were filtered out, that was not a concern for the Masked Man.

It seemed he was merely a game organizer, simply to ensure the game proceeded fairly and justly.

The Masked Man didn't give Gu Qinghan more time to think; he spun the roulette wheel again, and the pointer slowly turned.

Then, it pointed to Chu Tian, who was next to Gu Qinghan.