64: Fate Quest Card: The Truth About the Seven Deadly Sins!

Inside the hall, interwoven with gloom and pristine white, the light was dappled and shifting.

The Sin of Jealousy knelt humbly before the Sin of Pride's leather shoes, frantically kowtowing.

Each sound of his forehead hitting the floor was like a cruel trampling of his self-respect.

Although they were both A-rank, he had lost all pride and dignity in front of this companion.

Yet, he felt it was only right.

Both parties felt the same way.

"I am sorry, please forgive me!"

"Please forgive me, Lord Arrogance..."

The Sin of Jealousy's kowtows were nearly frantic, hoping only to receive even a sliver of the other party's forgiveness.

"Even at this moment, you haven't realized what exactly you did wrong."

The Sin of Pride's voice rang out, deep and powerful, like the tolling of an ancient bell, shaking the still air around them.

The Sin of Jealousy's hurried kowtowing suddenly froze.

He was stunned, his mind blank.

That was right.

Although he kept kowtowing and apologizing, he genuinely didn't understand where he had gone wrong.

He had meticulously executed every instruction on the mission card without the slightest deviation.

He successfully disguised himself as Master Shang Shan and attended the God of Cookery Competition.

During the first "Guess the Chili" game, he deliberately gave the wrong answer, then publicly admitted his mistake when the host tried to explain, and subsequently left the stage calmly.

Everything had been flawless.

However, after a period of silence, the Sin of Pride questioned him again, his voice low yet chillingly cold: "Think carefully again. Did you do anything superfluous?"

"Think hard. Answer me only after you've figured it out."

Sensing the anger in the voice, the Sin of Jealousy frantically began to recall events.

From the night he ambushed Master Shang Shan, to every detail of the competition, and finally to the scene when he left.

All scenes replayed in his mind like a revolving lantern, over and over.

Just when he was about to give up, believing he had made no mistake.

A subtle memory, like a shooting star flashing across the night sky, suddenly streaked through his thoughts.

"Could it be... because of that bug?"

He remembered Han Fei.

The person who, for some unknown reason, had discovered his deception.

"You remembered?"

The fury in the Sin of Pride's words seemed barely contained.

The Sin of Jealousy nodded fearfully, yet his expression was mixed with confusion.

"Are you wondering why merely wanting to crush a bug after the mission was complete counts as doing something superfluous?"

The Sin of Pride's voice carried a hint of sarcasm, effortlessly pinpointing the unspoken confusion in the Sin of Jealousy's heart.

However, the Sin of Pride did not immediately answer this question. Instead, he changed the subject and posed another one.

"Recall, why did the last mission in Eagle Country fail?"

This time, the Sin of Jealousy did not think for long. Memories flooded him, and he answered quickly: "Because someone casually killed a child who possessed the Ultimate Yin Physique."

"It seems you still remember."

The Sin of Pride responded coldly, his words laced with both satire and helplessness.

"That idiot back then was just like you, thinking that casually killing a bug wouldn't affect the mission."

"But what was the result?!"

The Sin of Pride roared suddenly, causing the entire space to tremble slightly.

The Sin of Jealousy cowered in terror, trembling all over like a small beast caught in a storm, with nowhere to hide.

"Because of that idiot, destiny shifted. Not only did that mission fail completely, but it also made our subsequent missions extremely difficult!"

While reprimanding him, the Sin of Pride involuntarily glanced at the card he held in his hand.

An Epic-grade Divine Artifact.

The Destiny Mission Card.

This Divine Artifact had only one function.

That was to grant wishes; it would lead the wish-maker step by step toward the fulfillment of their desire by issuing missions.

For example, if one wished upon the mission card to eat an apple.

Then the mission card might issue one or several tasks.

For instance, Mission One: Within 5 hours, prepare 5 yuan, enter a market in East Alley, and stop in front of the fifth shop on the left after entering.

Mission Two: Prepare a small knife, enter a certain alley, intercept a girl carrying a backpack at noon, threaten her with the knife, and steal her backpack.

When you complete Mission One, you will find that the shop is selling apples, and 5 yuan is just enough to buy one.

When you complete Mission Two, you will find that the girl's backpack contains an apple.

The Destiny Mission Card connects desires and reality in this complex, ever-changing, yet precisely accurate way.

Even for those wishes that are seemingly unattainable, or even deemed insane, such as the Heaven-Defying wish to "destroy the world," it can weave a series of interconnected missions, allowing the wish-maker to gradually approach that seemingly impossible goal through continuous Trials and choices.

The world only knows that the Seven Deadly Sins are brutal and an evil organization.

However, what the world does not know is that everything the Seven Deadly Sins do is neither driven by personal greed nor a blind pursuit of destruction, but merely the completion of a series of linked missions.

Whatever the mission requires them to do, they will do.

They do not question good or evil; they only follow the mission.

If the mission requires them to spread benevolence, they will silently bring kindness to the world, like the soft rain of spring.

If the mission demands they oppose the entire world, they can also become the Incarnation of a storm, forcefully shaking the entire world.

Even if the mission requires them all to die, they would not hesitate for a moment.

It can be said that the entire purpose of the Seven Deadly Sins organization's existence is to complete missions in order to achieve a certain ultimate goal.

Of course, since they are missions, there are naturally failures and successes.

The Seven Deadly Sins had succeeded countless times, yet they had only failed once.

That sole failure was the mission the Seven Deadly Sins undertook in Eagle Country not long ago.

At that time, the Seven Deadly Sins, following the instructions on the mission card, prepared to sacrifice all life in an entire city to summon a certain ancient evil demon god.

But before the plan was executed, a seemingly insignificant interlude quietly occurred.

A mid-level member of the Seven Deadly Sins, while performing a trivial task, casually killed a five-year-old child who seemed completely irrelevant to the mission, either out of momentary impulse or indifference.

However, it was precisely this action that led to the failure of the Seven Deadly Sins' mission.

That five-year-old child possessed the Ultimate Yin Physique, which was the indispensable key to completing the blood sacrifice and communicating with the Demon Realm.

His death was like an invisible boulder smashing violently into the core of the ritual, causing the entire summoning process to lack its most crucial component.

When the ritual incantation echoed in the night sky, the anticipated demon god did not descend, leaving behind only dead silence and the astonished and bewildered faces of the Seven Deadly Sins members.

Later, the high-ranking members of the Seven Deadly Sins paid a huge price and finally glimpsed the truth behind the mission failure through a certain Epic-grade Divine Artifact.

At that moment, regret engulfed them like a tide.

They had absolutely not anticipated that such a tiny oversight would lead to such severe consequences.

The missions issued by the mission card only tell the wish-maker what to do and how to do it, but never why they must do it that way.

Therefore, at the time, the Seven Deadly Sins only knew they had to sacrifice a certain city at a certain time, but they didn't know why they had to sacrifice that city at that specific time.

Even knowing the reason afterward could not change the fact of the mission's failure.

Success in a mission brings rewards, and failure naturally brings punishment.

The punishment for that mission failure was swift and merciless, like a sudden storm descending upon the night.

Not only did it lead to the discovery of the Seven Deadly Sins' headquarters by Eagle Country, resulting in a siege and breakout battle where both sides suffered heavy losses.

It also caused the System treasure chest, which they had acquired with great difficulty, to be lost during that fierce battle.

Both the disappearance of the System treasure chest and the siege battle had a profound impact on the Seven Deadly Sins.

The System treasure chest was an indispensable item in the linked missions required to achieve their ultimate goal.

Losing it meant all previous efforts would turn to dust, and the linked missions would stall, unable to advance even an inch.

Replacing the mission would mean that all the effort, sacrifices, and resources expended previously would be wasted.

Furthermore, the Seven Deadly Sins had already been greatly weakened in Origin Qi during these long-term missions and could not afford such a restart.

Therefore, recovering the System treasure chest became the Seven Deadly Sins' most urgent and critical mission, one that could not fail.

This was not just a mission; it was the turning point for their organization's destiny.

However, troubles never come singly.

The great battle with Eagle Country forcibly dragged the Seven Deadly Sins out of the hidden shadows and pushed them into the world's spotlight.

They were forced to step from behind the scenes onto the stage, becoming the most formidable enemy feared by all righteous forces.

Before this, the Seven Deadly Sins were like ghosts in the night. Although the occasional terror they caused was frightening, in the eyes of the major nations, they were merely troublesome buffoons, like inconspicuous rats in a sewer.

Before the siege, Eagle Country had even optimistically believed they could wipe the Seven Deadly Sins from the face of the earth in just a few minutes.

But after that siege battle, all the major nations worldwide realized they were wrong.

The Seven Deadly Sins were not rats in a sewer.

They were an evil Dragon hiding in a sewer!

They were the most powerful evil organization in centuries!

This realization, like a bolt of lightning, shocked the entire world.

Since then, whenever the Seven Deadly Sins appeared, nations would set aside their differences and unanimously join forces to fight them, vowing to completely eradicate this evil organization.

This had a massive impact on the Seven Deadly Sins.

Some missions that were easily completed before now required ten times, or even a hundred times, the casualties to finish.

Even with the foundation of the Seven Deadly Sins, they could not withstand such attrition.

After all, they were no longer facing one or two forces, but the righteous power of the entire world!

Faced with such a situation, even the perpetually proud Sin of Pride was inevitably shrouded in a sense of powerlessness.

And the thought that the organization's current predicament was entirely due to the foolish actions of a certain idiot.

The rage in his heart burned fiercely like a raging fire, utterly uncontrollable.

'Bang!'

He viciously kicked the Sin of Jealousy.

The force of the kick was so immense that it instantly shattered half of the Sin of Jealousy's shoulder.

However, the bloodied Sin of Jealousy did not immediately scream.

Instead, he quickly used his remaining hand to grab a corner of his black robe and tremblingly wiped the blood spatters from the Sin of Pride's leather shoe.

"Lord Arrogance, I apologize. My filthy blood has stained your shoe."

"Please allow me to clean it for you."

His voice was faint and humble, and despite the pain covering his face, he still wore a nearly fawning smile.

A trace of disdain flashed in the Sin of Pride's eyes. He forcefully kicked away the hand attempting to placate him, then lifted his foot and ground his leather shoe harshly against the Sin of Jealousy's face.

"If the next mission didn't require the use of an idiot like you, I would have already thrown you into the Gloomy Purgatory just now."

The four words 'Gloomy Purgatory' seemed to trigger the darkest memories in the Sin of Jealousy's heart, terrifying him so much that his body began to convulse.

After the Sin of Pride finished wiping the blood from his shoe on the Sin of Jealousy's face, he stepped on his head and declared with absolute authority:

"The next mission requires you to complete it."

"Remember, do not do anything superfluous again."

"You only need to complete the mission."

"Do you understand?"

The Sin of Jealousy's head was pressed tightly against the floor by the Sin of Pride's sole, allowing him to barely squeeze out a few words through gritted teeth: "Y-yes, I understand, Lord Arrogance."

Sensing the faint response beneath his foot, the Sin of Pride slowly removed his foot and casually tossed a card in front of the Sin of Jealousy.

"I permit you to look up."

The Sin of Jealousy slightly raised his head.

His gaze fell upon the mission card.

His pupils suddenly constricted, and an indescribable fear instantly flooded his face.

This Destiny Card, which looked ordinary yet contained infinite possibilities, was extremely dangerous for an A-rank powerhouse like him to look directly at the mission details described on it.

It could lead to terrifying consequences such as the collapse of his sanity, the instant disintegration of his body, or even the annihilation of his Soul.

But the Sin of Jealousy had no choice but to look.

Because he understood this was the Sin of Pride's punishment for him.

He forced himself to concentrate, enduring the piercing pain as he stared at the blurred characters gradually appearing on the card.

"Disguise yourself as... Professor Yang Yu... infiltrate the Gourmet Academy... of the Third Hunter University..."

After painstakingly reading the contents of the card, the Sin of Jealousy's eyes suddenly exploded, splattering blood and leaving behind only two empty, bloody sockets that were unbearable to look at.

The Sin of Jealousy then desperately clutched his head, his body trembling violently from the unbearable agony, and a twisted, shrill sound erupted from deep within his throat.

"Ah ah ah ah!!!!"

It was as if countless invisible blades were slicing through his mind, each cut precisely carving away his sanity and will, driving him mad and causing him immense suffering.

Witnessing this scene, the Sin of Pride merely stood nearby, observing this internal and external collapse with an almost cruel tranquility.

"Go and complete the mission immediately. Other than that, you have no purpose for existing."

Having spoken, the Sin of Pride did not spare a single extra glance for the struggling Sin of Jealousy.

He turned and left, returning to his throne, which symbolized power and nobility.