183: Chapter 183 A Divine Play of Life? The one thing I, Lu Chen, have no shortage of is life!

Hunter Headquarters.

Inside the highest-spec teleportation hall.

On the cold metal floor, a super-giant teleportation array with a diameter of over ten meters was emitting a faint blue light. Complex energy patterns flickered like breathing, emitting heart-palpitating spatial fluctuations.

Wasteland Guardian was still dressed in his usual sloppy attire, chewing on a blade of grass, hands tucked into the pockets of his faded uniform, as if he were just going for a stroll in the countryside.

Elder Yuan Feng, however, had a grave expression. Dressed in tight-fitting combat gear, his aura was heavy, and deep in his eyes remained a trace of dread for the place they were about to visit.

Elder Dong Tian stood outside the array and solemnly cupped his hands at the three of them: "With me overseeing the affairs at Headquarters, please rest assured, everyone. I wish you... a triumphant return!"

His gaze lingered on Lu Chen for a moment, carrying both expectation and worry.

That was an eight-star Gods Game, and quite a few Tier 8 powerhouses from Headquarters had fallen there!

"Relax, relax. With the Lu kid around, maybe this time we'll be able to turn that damn Gods Game upside down!"

Wasteland Guardian waved his hand dismissively and was the first to sway into the center of the teleportation array: "Kid Lu, that Gods Map isn't here; it's within the borders of the Ao Country. We need to teleport there first."

Lu Chen's expression was calm, his eyes sharp as knives. Without the slightest hesitation, he stepped inside and stood beside Wasteland Guardian.

Yuan Feng took a deep breath, suppressing the unpleasant memories surging in his heart, and followed closely behind.

"Activate teleportation! Target—Ao Country!"

Dong Tian ordered in a deep voice.

Hum—!

The teleportation array shone brilliantly, and a deep blue pillar of light shot into the sky, completely engulfing the three figures.

A strong sense of spatial tearing arrived, but for the three people present, it was nothing.

After a brief moment of dizziness, the scene before them suddenly opened up.

With a big shot leading the way, the three quickly arrived at their destination—the eight-star invading Secret Realm [Mountain of Life]!

This place was guarded by a powerful legion of the Ao Country. Seeing the big shots from Hunter Headquarters arrive, they immediately let them pass without needing tickets!

You must be joking!

Big shots from Hunter Headquarters coming to clear this eight-star Hell difficulty Secret Realm would greatly alleviate the pressure of their guard duty; they couldn't welcome them enough.

After entering the Secret Realm.

What followed was an extremely uncomfortable sense of oppression.

The sky was an eerie dark green, like a huge, filthy emerald. There were no sun, moon, or stars, only viscous light barely spilling down.

The ground beneath their feet presented a sickly grey decay. Occasionally, one could see some twisted, strange plants that wiggled slightly like living creatures, emitting a contradictory aura interwoven with decay and vitality.

The air was filled with a mixture of cloying sweetness and stench. Inhaling it into the lungs, one could vaguely feel their life force subtly slipping away.

"Ugh... what a disgusting place."

Wasteland Guardian picked his ear and looked around with disgust.

Yuan Feng pointed to a mountain range in the distance shrouded in thick green mist.

"The hidden Gods Map is in a valley deep within the mountain range. The existence that calls itself the 'God of Life' is right there."

"However, the final BOSS of this Secret Realm is guarding that place. To break in, we must first bypass that eight-star World Lord BOSS."

He paused, a look of lingering fear appearing on his face, and looked at Lu Chen, his tone extremely serious:

"Young Friend Lu, you must not be deceived by the God of Life! That is definitely not a benevolent god, but an Evil God who takes pleasure in toying with and stripping away life! Its Gods Game treats the fragility and impermanence of life as a plaything!"

"Oh?"

Lu Chen's eyes flickered slightly.

Yuan Feng's eyes flashed with a trace of pain; clearly, the memory was not pleasant: "Last time, an elite squad of ours, consisting of eight Peak Tier 8 powerhouses, entered the Gods Game... The rules of that Gods Game seemed simple, but they were incredibly vicious and highly random!"

"It might require you to traverse a grassland within a limited time that looks peaceful but is actually draining your life Origin with every step."

"It might also require you to find the only fruit among countless identical-looking ones that can 'replenish' life instead of 'devouring' life."

"It could even be a seemingly fair arena battle, where your opponent is... your teammate, and it can only end when one side dies!"

"All choices, all struggles, are under the gaze of that Evil God."

"It enjoys our fear, hesitation, and despair on the edge of life and death."

"We tried everything, and in the end... only I and one other companion, relying on a legendary life-saving item, managed to survive by luck, or perhaps the God intentionally spared our lives."

Yuan Feng's description carried a strong sense of imagery, vividly outlining the eeriness, malice, and danger of that Gods Game.

It was a cruel mockery that completely trampled on the value of life and extinguished hope time and time again.

Wasteland Guardian also put away some of his laziness, smacked his lips and said: "That's right, the Gods Games created by these evil gods are all incredibly vicious, and the survival rate... is terrifyingly low."

After speaking, both looked at Lu Chen, wanting to see gravity or dread on his face.

However, after listening, Lu Chen not only showed no fear, but instead, the corners of his mouth curved into an almost arrogant arc. He gently moved his wrists, his tone calm but carrying an unquestionable confidence:

"Gods Game of Life? Specifically for toying with life?"

He chuckled, and the sound was exceptionally clear in this dead-silent restricted area.

"Heh, sounds a bit troublesome."

He paused, then raised his eyes, a playful look in them: "But! I, Lu Chen, am least lacking in... life!"

"..."

One sentence, earth-shattering!

Yuan Feng was directly stunned, opened his mouth, but found he couldn't refute it.

He recalled Lu Chen's eerie resurrection ability, as well as the scenes of him standing up from desperate situations time and time again on the battlefield...

For ordinary people, the life-stripping that meant nine deaths and one life, for this young man, perhaps... it really was just an itch?

"Pfft, hahaha!"

Wasteland Guardian was stunned for a moment, then slapped his thigh and roared with laughter without any image, laughing until tears almost came out, and the blade of grass nearly fell to the ground.

"Hahaha! Right, right, right! How could I forget that you, little monster, are unkillable! Good, good, good! Now there's going to be a good show!"

He slapped Lu Chen's shoulder hard, excited like a child:

"That damn Evil God of Life, I'm afraid it's going to kick a titanium alloy steel plate this time!"

"Doesn't it like toying with life and watching people struggle between life and death?"

"I really want to see what expression will be on its hypocritical divine face when it finds out that its Gods Game rules are completely ineffective against you! Just thinking about it is exciting!"

The more Wasteland Guardian thought about it, the happier he became, as if he had already seen the Evil God suffering a setback. The slight gravity from before was swept away, leaving only full anticipation and... a malicious sense of humor ready to watch the fun.

Watching the old man and the young man before him—one arrogant and confident like the scorching sun, the other gloating like an old urchin—Yuan Feng's originally heavy mood couldn't help but lighten a bit, and he managed to force a smile.

Perhaps... this time will really be different?

Lu Chen locked his gaze far away on that mountain range of green mist, his eyes sharp as a divine spear about to be unsheathed.

"Senior, let's go!"

Lu Chen's tone was calm. He raised his hand and summoned millions of beast pets, letting them sweep across the life Invading Monsters within the Secret Realm of the Mountain of Life.

"Good! Let's go meet that... God of Life!"

Three figures turned into streams of light and shot straight into the depths of the green mountain range, which was permeated with ominous and eerie vibes.