171: Chapter 171: The Debate

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao stared hostilely at the dense forest to the right of the courier station.

"Get out!" she barked, her voice unable to conceal her weakness and Killing Intent.

Blood was still seeping from the wounds on her left shoulder and abdomen.

With all her trump cards exhausted and suffering from severe injuries, this was her weakest moment.

No matter how calculating she usually was, her emotions couldn't help but fluctuate at this moment.

The three mechanical Puppets that had just finished their transformation stepped forward, shielding Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao behind them.

Zhou Yan's body was completely covered in a layer of silver-black metal armor.

As his fists collided, electric arcs crackled within the earthy-yellow light of his Law.

The swamp beneath Zhao Kuo's feet reappeared, the mud turning into boiling liquid metal.

Sun Ying's body flickered between illusion and reality, and dense streams of silver data flowed within the Shadow Law surrounding him.

The Mechanical Plague had not only reconstructed their physical bodies, but even their exclusive divine arts had mutated.

At the edge of the dense forest, ripples fluctuated in space.

"Don't be nervous, Vice Monitor."

A young man wearing a black trench coat with slightly messy, cropped hair stepped out from the shadows.

He kept his head down, playing with a silver coin in his hand.

Cheng E.

A gloomy guy who followed the [Curse-Killing] system.

He looked up, his lifeless, dead-fish eyes scanning the bloodstains on the ground before finally landing on Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao and the three mechanical Puppets.

"Tsk," Cheng E let out a flat exclamation. "That scene just now was indeed an eye-opener."

He stopped, maintaining a safe distance from Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao.

"Everyone knows your [Mechanical Plague] can assimilate foreign races and infect their vassals. It's practically an unbeatable cheat in group battles."

Cheng E looked at the data stream flowing over Sun Ying. "But I really didn't expect that your exclusive divine art could directly assimilate even a deity's Origin Divine Fire."

"Turning high-and-mighty demigods into obedient metal dogs."

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao glared at Cheng E, her eyes dark.

She didn't reply, her mind shifting slightly.

The Divine Power within the three mechanical Puppets surged to its peak.

At the slightest suspicious movement from Cheng E, Zhou Yan and Zhao Kuo would launch a suicidal charge.

Sun Ying would take her and escape by merging into the data shadows.

Cheng E tossed the coin into the air and caught it steadily.

He rapidly analyzed the situation before him.

Transforming demigods into mechanical Puppets was indeed a stunning move.

But what he cared about more was how far this transformation actually went.

Could these mechanical deities still communicate with their original divine domains?

Could they still control the vassals under their command?

If the Mechanical Plague could follow the divine domain channel and infect and assimilate all the vassals in their entire divine kingdom...

Cheng E's gaze turned cold.

If that were really the case, this woman's danger level was definitely no lower than Lin Yuan's.

If she were allowed to develop in this Rubiks Cube World, her mechanical army would snowball and eventually crush everyone.

Intent to kill welled up in Cheng E's heart.

He majored in the Curse-Killing system, specializing in secretly stripping his targets of their vitality and Luck.

With Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao currently heavily injured and on the verge of death, it was the perfect opportunity to strike.

As long as a [Decay Coin] was nailed into her divine fire, she wouldn't even have the chance to self-detonate.

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao sensed that fleeting intent to kill.

Forcing herself to stand upright, she once again condensed a pale blue energy force field in the palm of her right hand.

"Cheng E, what are you doing here?" Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao's voice was icy. "Are you here to join me, or to kill me?"

As she asked the latter half, the muscles on her face twitched slightly.

Looking at Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao, who was acting as if facing a formidable enemy, Cheng E suddenly put away his coin.

He weighed the pros and cons.

Killing Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao would indeed eliminate a huge potential threat.

However, Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao held three mutated Rank Five demigod Puppets in her hands; her deathbed counterattack could easily strip a layer of skin off him.

More importantly, there wasn't much benefit.

Death in the Rubiks Cube World didn't mean actual demise; it only deducted academic credits and forced an exit from the sandbox.

If he exerted all his effort to kill Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao, he would also end up injured.

In the end, it would only benefit Lin Yuan, Bai Ye, and those people.

It was better to keep her around.

Let her expand and clash head-on with Lin Yuan.

When two tigers fight, one is bound to get hurt.

He cultivated the Curse-Killing system, and his specialty was hiding in the dark to deliver the final blow to the victor.

There was no need to use his full strength now.

"I was just passing by." Cheng E stuffed his hands into his trench coat pockets, his tone returning to indifference. "And dropping by to check on my prey."

He pointed at the three mechanical Puppets.

"The native resources in the Rubiks Cube World are nowhere near as valuable as the corpses of these Prodigies." Cheng E looked at Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao.

"I followed them the whole way and was just about to reel in the net, only to be beaten to the punch by you."

He sighed. "Vice Monitor, you stole my prey. Logically speaking, you should apologize to me."

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao's tensed nerves relaxed slightly.

The other party wanted wealth and resources, which made things easy. As long as there were material demands, there was room for negotiation.

However, she still did not have the Puppets stand down.

People like Cheng E could be negotiating terms with you one second, and casting a curse on eighteen generations of your ancestors the next.

"Since you've seen my strength and know my methods..."

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao pushed up her glasses, putting back on her business-like face. "Cheng E, I formally invite you to join my Alliance."

She threw out her bargaining chip: "You are well aware of the threat Lin Yuan poses. Let's join forces to fight Lin Yuan."

"When the time comes, the other twenty-six people in the class will all become my mechanical Puppets, charging into battle for us."

"We will exclusively share the ultimate fruits of victory in the Rubiks Cube World."

"As for the positions of Monitor and Vice Monitor, we will compete for them based on our own abilities at the very end. How about it?"

Hearing this, Cheng E couldn't help but laugh out loud.

His laughter echoed outside the empty courier station, filled with undisguised sarcasm.

"Vice Monitor, you really are amusing."

Cheng E continued, "If I hadn't been hiding in the woods just now, watching with my own eyes as you wiped out these three idiots with that harmless smile of yours..."

"...I might have actually believed your nonsense."

He took a step forward, the aura of his Curse-Killing Law drawing closer.

"You look quiet and gentle, but your heart is more poisonous than the monsters in the Abyss. More importantly, you are too hypocritical."

Cheng E pointed to his own nose.

"When I kill, I do it for wealth and life, and I admit it."

"But when you kill, you have to wrap it in a skin of win-win cooperation."

"Ally with you? I'm afraid that while I'm sleeping at night, you'll stuff my divine fire full of mechanical bugs."

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao's expression darkened, and the three Puppets immediately stepped forward to shield her.

"Forget about the Alliance." Cheng E waved his hand and turned to walk toward the dense forest.

"I'll let you off this time. Consider it as you owing me a favor for stealing my prey."

With his back to Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao, he waved his hand.

"Remember to return it next time."

Before his voice could fade, Cheng E's body turned into a clump of greyish mist and dissipated on the spot, leaving not even a trace of his aura behind.

He departed cleanly and decisively.

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao stood frozen in place.

She hadn't expected Cheng E to refuse so decisively and leave so quickly.

"He is not that kind-hearted." Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao knit her brows, rapidly analyzing Cheng E's motives.

A moment later, she let out a cold laugh.

"He wants to use me as a pawn to deal with Lin Yuan so he can reap the benefits as a bystander."

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao saw right through Cheng E's scheme.

But she had no other choice now.

Lin Yuan was a mountain standing in front of everyone. If she wanted to win, she had to cross it.

"Escort me back to the city."

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao issued an order to the three mechanical Puppets.

Zhou Yan's massive body squatted down, cradling Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao in his palm.

Zhao Kuo and Sun Ying guarded her sides, one in front and one behind.

The group quickly withdrew in the direction of Golden Toad City.

Along the way, Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao's mind was in utter turmoil.

Going up against a freak like Lin Yuan, her chances of winning were already not high.

Now, there was also Cheng E hiding in the dark, ready to stab her in the back at any moment.

This Rubiks Cube World was even more dangerous than she had imagined.

"I must speed up the assimilation process." Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao grit her teeth, enduring the sharp pain.

"Once I'm back, I'll hire the wandering mercenaries in the city to search for the locations of the other classmates."

"At all costs, I will expand my Puppet army!"

...

At the same time.

In the Extreme North of the Rubiks Cube World.

This was a wasteland covered in ice and snow all year round.

A castle constructed entirely of pale bones stood tall amidst the wind and snow.

[Current Identity: Bone Lord · Return of the Dead · Border Warlord]

[Identity Effect: The attributes of all undead-type units within the territory are increased by 40%. Once per day, the Resurrection of the Dead ritual can be activated to convert corpses on the battlefield into skeleton soldiers.]

[Warning: The territory lacks life; flesh and blood resources from the surrounding areas must be plundered regularly, otherwise the undead will riot!]

Bai Ye sat on his bone throne, snapping his fingers in satisfaction as he looked at the golden light screen in front of him.

"This identity is practically tailor-made for me."

He crossed his legs, holding a cup of crimson wine he had obtained from somewhere.

Having entered the Rubiks Cube World for less than half an hour, he had already figured out this sandbox mechanism completely.

Tier division, resource plundering, and lord hegemony.

That crazy woman Instructor Wen Muxue clearly wanted the twenty-eight of them to slaughter each other in this sandbox to raise the most poisonous Gu.

Bai Ye took a sip of his wine, his mind filled with countless thoughts.

His current points ranked fifth, and the identity he received belonged to the third tier.

With this Bone City under his command, he also had several thousand undead cannon fodder at the start.

It was a very smooth start.

But he knew very well that the ultimate boss of this game was Lin Yuan.

"That freak Lin Yuan, with over twenty-six thousand points, must have gotten a general identity card." Bai Ye stroked his chin.

"Given that guy's style of doing things, he's probably plundering resources everywhere right now, preparing to mass-produce troops."

He believed he understood Lin Yuan quite well.

During the grand exam, this guy had just swept through everything.

Now that they were in this lord hegemony mode, Lin Yuan was even more in his element.

"The tallest tree in the forest is the first to be destroyed by the wind; Lin Yuan is definitely a thorn in everyone's side right now."

Bai Ye stood up and paced in front of his throne.

"Those troublemakers like Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao and Cheng E might secretly band together to form an anti-Lin Yuan Alliance."

"No matter how strong Lin Yuan is, two fists are no match for four hands."

"If he gets schemed against by them, he might actually fail."

A glint of shrewdness flashed in Bai Ye's eyes.

"Offering help in times of need is always better than adding a finishing touch to something already perfect."

"At this time, if he, Bai Ye, stepped forward and led his bone army to reinforce Lin Yuan..."

"...wouldn't this brotherly bond sublimate to a whole new height?"

"Are you kidding? Lin Yuan is my fellow townsman from Tianhai Province! He is my beloved relative, my dearest friend, my own brother!"

Bai Ye patted his chest righteously, as if he were truly a heroic man of great loyalty and affection.

"When my brother is in trouble, how can I stand by and watch!"

He walked to the center of the hall and drew a greyish-white hexagram magic circle on the ground with his right hand.

His Divine Power surged.

A Bone Dragon over eight meters long slowly crawled out of the magic circle.

Deep blue Soul fire flickered in its eye sockets as it lowered its head to Bai Ye.

Bai Ye pulled a crumpled piece of parchment from his robes, bit his finger, and quickly scribbled down a line of words.

"Brother Lin Yuan, I hope this letter finds you well."

"I have heard that your great fame attracts unwanted attention, and fearing that you might be plotted against by petty people, I have been unable to sleep at night."

"I have specially sent an envoy to contact you, wishing to form an Alliance of life and death with you to resist external enemies together."

"You lead the attack, I will support, and I will absolutely not steal your kills. Sincerely, your brother, Bai Ye."

After writing, Bai Ye rolled the parchment into a scroll and stuffed it into the gaps of the Bone Dragon's ribs.

"Go, find the city with the heaviest Killing Intent and the loudest commotion in this world, and deliver this letter to him."

The Bone Dragon let out a low roar, spread its wings, soared into the sky, and disappeared into the swirling snow.

Having done all this, Bai Ye sat back down on his throne.

He closed his eyes, and obscure yet majestic fluctuations of Law emanated from his body.

This fluctuation far exceeded his current Realm of a Rank Five demigod.

This was the foundation that came from the heart of the worlds.

"I've nourished myself a bit too much." Bai Ye rubbed his temples, feeling an unbearable throbbing pain in his Sea of Consciousness.

The power contained within several heart of the worlds was too vast and chaotic; his current divine fire could not fully bear it.

If he didn't quickly refine and fuse it completely, there would be a risk of his divine fire spiraling out of control.

"I need to take a good rest."