Cao Qian suddenly froze — she had already realised the Mountain God’s true identity.

Xing Ye chose the “Maturity” QR code. To alter the shape of the mountain without triggering a natural disaster, he had no choice but to rely on the mountain itself.

The “Maturity” QR code allowed Xing Ye to issue a command to a target; the target then decides how to carry it out. The higher the target’s intelligence, the more perfectly and ingeniously it completed the command. However, if Xing Ye’s command contradicted the target’s own will, the now “matured” object would reject the QR code’s command.

This phenomenon had appeared once before in Puppet City — after all, all the items in Puppet City felt a strong attachment to Master Benedict.
The casino, on the other hand, was different: a revolver would not feel much affection for the dealer or the casino, since it wasn’t made by their hands.

But this mountain was not the same. It had guarded Mountain God Village for ages and must have feelings toward the village. Xing Ye wanted to gamble on how the mountain viewed the villagers.

He commanded the mountain to move the hot spring from the other side over to attack the paper men and protect the sacrificial team. He didn’t know how the mountain would respond.

Once the “Maturity” QR code was pressed onto the mountain, the entire massif shook violently — like an earthquake — and, after a few tremors, a hot spring appeared before them.

Seeing the spring, the village chief’s face changed, and he shouted: “Run! Get out of here! Don’t touch the hot spring!”

From the moment the mountain “matured,” Zhang Dali’s “Move Mountains Like Yu Gong ” skill became useless — and with that, Cao Qian regained enough strength to lead the sacrificial team to safety. They hid behind a large boulder and watched the chaos.

Yan Hebi was a paper man and didn’t dare touch the spring. Qian Daniu used her second “Dripping Water Wears Through Stone” on him (NT: idiom metaphorically describing gentle, steady effort that brings lasting results) so that he wouldn’t lose combat ability if a drop of hot spring water splashed on him.

In front of the terrifying power of nature, the players’ QR codes and initial skills were almost useless. Niu Xiaohua and the others had barely shaken off the “idleness” effect when the hot spring, as if it had grown legs, splashed toward them. The moment the water hit them, Niu Xiaohua and the other guards’ bodies turned soft — their arms like noodles, unable to lift.

On the other side, the village chief and his people were the same. They wanted to run, but the mountain would not let them. The hot spring blocked their escape route, pouring over them in waves. Countless paper men lost their fighting power, collapsing on the ground, unable even to crawl.

At the centre of the hot spring, Wang Sifang and Qin Xiao’er, however, remained unharmed. The mountain carefully raised four rocks around them to keep them safe from the heat.

By contrast, their teammate Yan Hebi would have been melted to pulp by the relentless spring if not for Qian Daniu and Cao Heihei’s protection.

Watching it all unfold, Xing Ye said, “It seems the mountain has always been protecting the children — whether human or paper hybrids, they’re all under its care.”

The paper men, however — whether those blessed by the Mountain God or those artificially made by the village chief — were all mercilessly attacked by the mountain.

The effect of “Maturity” lasted only five minutes. After that, the mountain returned to its original state. Hundreds of paper men were flattened like sheets of paper against the rocks, and only the six members of the sacrificial team and Yan Hebi could still move.

The Mountain God Team’s four members could no longer lift their arms. Their QR codes and fate-following tools were useless; only their initial skills remained active.

But since most offensive skills required body movement, and control-type skills had short durations, none could deal fatal blows. Once immobilized, the effect of their skills was greatly reduced.

Niu Xiaohua, furious, shouted: “Wh–what kind of skill is that? Doesn’t Qian Daniu have a photocopying ability?”

Xing Ye glanced at her and said, “I lied. Don’t think a ‘beauty trap’ works on everyone — there are still plenty of single-minded, self-disciplined fools who won’t be swayed by beauty.”

At his words, the little mirror in his arms trembled happily.

The guards knew their defeat was now certain. Liang Ergou, unwilling to accept it, said to Yan Hebi: “Li Datou, you’re on our team — why help them? If we lose, your score will drop too!”

Yan Hebi replied sincerely, “Yang Xiaomao won’t kill you. If you follow him, we can all win together.”

Only then did everyone realize — in both their battles, the sacrificial team had dominated, but hadn’t killed anyone.

Why not kill? Now, with all the paper men and the guard team on the mountain, they could easily complete the mission just by killing them, couldn’t they?

They stared weakly at Yang Xiaomao’s small figure as he faced the mountain cave and asked the chief, “How does the annual sacrifice begin?”

The chief, soaked and paralysed, replied feebly, “The guards don’t matter — as long as the sacrifices are brought before the cave, their task is done. For the Mountain God Festival to begin, all five sacrifices must enter the cave before midnight. At exactly twelve, they’ll faint, and the Mountain God will come to choose.”

“I understand,” Xing Ye nodded.

He walked up to Liang Ergou, whose softened paper body tore easily. Xing Ye pulled apart the paper skin, revealing the green bones within, and took three finger bones, handing them to Qian Daniu, Cao Qian, and Wang Sifang.

Paper men felt no pain, and Liang Ergou didn’t care if his body was missing bones — but he couldn’t understand what Xing Ye was planning.

Those holding the bones looked to Xing Ye. He said, “Those with bones blessed by the Mountain God won’t be chosen as sacrifices. The one chosen will be me.”

“What are you trying to do?” Cao Qian asked warily.

Xing Ye smiled faintly. “To reveal the final truth of this world.”

Wang Sifang and Qin Xiao’er were reluctant to enter the cave, but Yan Hebi kept time carefully. Five minutes before midnight, he hid Wang Sifang’s fate-following artifact in his magician’s hat so he couldn’t use it.

With no tools, and Xing Ye’s promise that entering the cave meant victory, Wang Sifang and Qin Xiao’er had no choice but to follow.

The cave was simple and clean. Xing Ye and the others sat down, waiting for the Mountain God’s arrival.

Cao Qian said anxiously, “When the Mountain God descends, we’ll all faint — that’s too dangerous.”

Xing Ye shook his head. “It’s fine. I’m prepared.”

After a while, a strange sound filled the air. Drowsiness overtook everyone, and within seconds they all fainted.

Once everyone was unconscious, a masked man in a black robe appeared. He sniffed each of them, finally choosing Xing Ye.

He gently removed his mask, intending to place it on Xing Ye’s face — but then a voice said: “You’re not allowed to hurt Yang Xiaomao.”

The masked man froze. Xing Ye opened his eyes and said, “So it really is you, Yang Daniu.”

As soon as he spoke, Cao Qian also opened her eyes, joining Xing Ye in staring at the masked figure.

At the moment she had fainted, Linlin had used the QR code “self deception” — telling herself repeatedly, ‘I’m not sleepy, I’m not sleepy, I’m not sleepy’. With the help of the Swan Crystal, Cao Qian had resisted the drowsiness.

Xing Ye had used the same method. After entering the cave, he applied the “Empathy” QR code to himself and the little mirror. This way, even if he was subdued and fell unconscious, Lu Mingze — who shared “empathy” with him — could use his intense emotions to awaken Xing Ye.

Inside the cave, the only two people still conscious were the ones who possessed fate-following artifacts — and their artifacts were alive, with their own awareness.

Cao Qian looked at the face of the person in the black robe. She saw that the woman was a few years older than Yang Xiaomao and looked very much like the cross-dressed Xiao Yezi from the Hospital World — clearly, they shared a blood relation.

Her expression was vacant; she stood before Xing Ye, repeatedly trying to put the mask on him, as if she had lost her soul.

“What’s going on?” Cao Qian stood up and asked. “How could the Mountain God be Yang Daniu? Wasn’t she one of the previous sacrifices…”

As she spoke, Cao Qian suddenly stopped. She had already understood the Mountain God’s true identity.

Xing Ye said, “Back when I saw Granny Cao’s journal written on the scraps of cloth, I began to suspect that the Mountain God was actually the sacrifices who disappeared each year. After hearing the village chief’s words, I became certain — the reason Yang Ermao’s blood made the masked figure scream wasn’t because the blood of a sacrifice can harm the Mountain God, but because a brother’s blood awakened the faint remnants of the Mountain God’s consciousness.”

As he finished speaking, he drew a scalpel with his QR code and gently cut open his arm. Yang Daniu looked at the wound on Xing Ye’s arm, stunned for a moment — then suddenly covered her face and let out a shrill cry, kneeling on the ground and bursting into tears.

 

Translator : DarNan