Absolute Choice

United States, Intelligence Agency.

An old liquid display screen was displaying Shi Xiaobai’s devil-like footwork amidst the skeletons army and him shattering a skeleton soldier in one strike with his knife. Roy, who was sitting by the computer, was constantly pushing his spectacle rims up, and when the final skeleton soldier was reduced to pieces, he let out a long exhale and said with a praise, “Wow, this is amazing!”

Standing behind Roy was Gino, who also showed his aduluation. “The Crab Steps he uses is reminiscent of Yaris’ style. And that knife technique is clean and precise. Every strike hits a vital spot. I did not expect such a genius to be amongst China’s younger generation.”

Roy nodded and finally sighed, “Unfortunately, he is destined to die at a young age. The Battle Arena Corporation might have informed us the moment the Arch-Cardinal appeared, allowing us to successfully intercept and locate the Arch-Cardinal’s location in an extremely short amount of time, but…”

“But our superiors haven’t given us the permission to make the arrest.”

Gino finished Roy’s sentence in a tone tinged with sarcasm. “This youth is after all from China. Our so great and wise superiors only wishes for China to lose its geniuses. Now, for them to choose to turn our backs on him and pretend we are incompetent is their usual style. After all, the United State’s justice is only valid for American citizens.”

Roy shrugged his shoulders and said, “Don’t let our superiors hear that or you will be in deep trouble. You were sent to the Desert of Death to gather intelligence previously. Surely, you must not have forgotten what that felt like?”

Gino curled his mouth but he lowered his volume, “Sigh, even if we can’t save the two Chinese nationals, we can’t just easily let the Arch-Cardinal go, right?”

Roy shook his head and said with a laugh, “Young Gino, you are still too young. That’s right, you haven’t been with the Intelligence Agency for long. It’s normal for you not to know certain secrets. Let’s put it this way. The Arch-Cardinal is just an ordinary person. It might be some alcoholic at a bar, or an employee at KFC. He might even be a beggar on the streets. They have only temporarily gained the favor of the Bishop of Virtuality.”

When Gino heard this, he said in wonder, “What does that mean?”

Roy patiently explained, “All of the Arch-Cardinal’s power comes from the Bishop of Virtuality. Although there can only be four Arch-Cardinals at one point in time, who becomes an Arch-Cardinal is all decided with a single thought by the Bishop of Virtuality. Once the present Arch-Cardinal is arrested, the Bishop of Virtuality would recover all his powers from him and transfer it to another person. In the end, the Arch-Cardinal is just an ordinary person who was temporarily given powers.”

After Gino heard this, he gave it a moment’s thought before saying, “If that is the case, catching the Bishop of Virtuality would result in the complete collapse of the Church of Virtuality?”

Roy sneered and said, “The American Intelligence Agency has an intelligence network that covers the entire world, but after a decade of intense investigations, not a single clue has led to the Bishop of Virtuality. We are even beginning to suspect that the bastard is hidden on another planet or another dimension.”

Gino clicked his tongue and said, “That’s true, that old monster definitely isn’t easily caught. So the Arch-Cardinal’s power is entrusted to him by the Bishop of Virtuality. I was wondering why his actions were so strange.”

Roy said, “The power this Arch-Cardinal received must be fleeting. The Barrier of Darkness protection and the channeling-style undead summoning is all he has, but this guy is truly a fool. If he had channeled the most powerful undead summoning right from the beginning, these two kids would have been dead a hundred times over.”

At this moment, the screen was showing the Arch-Cardinal floating a hundred meters high in the sky, preparing to launch his super move.

Roy curled his mouth and said, “It looks like this idiot is getting flustered.”

Next was the scene of Shi Xiaobai constantly climbing up trees and leaping up into the sky, as well as Xiao Xiao shooting arrow after arrow at the Arch-Cardinal.

The two of them watched in a daze.

Gino sighed and said, “These two are good seedlings. It’s such a pity.”

At this moment, Xiao Xiao’s fully concentrated arrow pierced through the Barrier of Darkness, interrupting the Arch-Cardinal’s channeling. However, as he was at the end of his channeling, the door of darkness still fell from the sky, while the screen showed the Arch-Cardinal stamping his foot in rage before switching to Shi Xiaobai.

Following that was a scene that completely stunned the duo.

They saw Shi Xiaobai dash ahead before the door of darkness even landed. His speed was frightening fast. When the door of darkness landed, he charged straight into the darkness and moments later appeared from the other end of the door of darkness.

However, there were dozens of skeleton soldiers blocking his path, but by using a series of dazzling feints, the skeleton soldiers were reduced to two bone heaps, opening up a narrow path that allowed Shi Xiaobai to proceed forward. Next, he used an extremely fast speed to chase up to the bone dragon and shattered the bone dragon to pieces.

All of this happened in less than ten seconds!

“Holy shit, this guy is only at the third level of the Psionic Mortal Realm!?”

“F*ck, this Chinese guy really deserves death!”

The two of them cursed out in unison before they interlocked their eyes and roared with laughter.

Gino rubbed his chin and said, “This kid’s divine Crab Steps is quickly approaching the Dominating Refinement realm. However, being able to completely shatter the bone dragon in one strike doesn’t make sense. This is not the strength a person at the third level of the Psionic Mortal Realm should possess.”

Roy gave it a little thought before saying, “I suspect that the undead is vulnerable to his knife technique. For example, the legendary ‘Sword of Light’ makes slashing the entities of Darkness as simple as cutting vegetables. This strike likely has similar effects as the Sword of Light.”

Gino nodded his head in agreement.

At this moment, the screen showed three doors of darkness suddenly land, blocking off the duo’s escaping path.

Gino exclaimed, “Doesn’t that bastard have to channel to do the undead summoning? Why is he able to instantly summon such large armies?”

Roy frowned for a moment before it eased. He said, “The Arch-Cardinal’s strength depends on the Bishop of Virtuality’s intentions. Since he suddenly possesses the ability to make such a powerful summon, then there is only one possibility. The Bishop of Virtuality wishes for him to quickly finish this task, so he gave him additional strength.”

Just as Roy said that, the Arch-Cardinal said from the screen, “Looking at pitiful worms constantly struggling, constantly going from having hope to despair, and then gaining hope from despair, until they fall into absolute despair. Such a delightful matter must not be missed, am I right?”

Upon hearing this, Gino could not help but curse, “This Arch-Cardinal not only wants to uphold his reputation, but he is also rather shameless. To forcefully flaunt himself, he is only an idiot. Sigh, unfortunately the end of the road for these two is here. No one can save them.”

At this moment, the Arch-Cardinal had already gradually lifted his hand.

“No, they still have a way to help themselves.”

Roy spoke at a very fast speed, “Didn’t you notice? The Arch-Cardinal wasted so much time emphasizing the consequences of death to prevent the two of them from attempting to commit suicide. The crippling of a virtual system does not mean everything has become real. There is just no normal method of extricating themselves from the immersion. Death allows them to forcefully leave the game. However, if they were killed by the Arch-Cardinal, it would be equivalent to being infected by the virus and their nerves would be damaged, destroying their brain stems.”

“So, if they want to save themselves, the only way is to commit suicide!”

Roy’s words astounded Gino. He finally understood that all the bravado talk the Arch-Cardinal said at the beginning was not a bunch of hogwash, but to fool the two of them. It had even fooled him!

The American Intelligence Agency was indeed powerful. They even knew such a secret.

But…why didn’t they tell this to the world?

Gino opened his mouth and suddenly felt discomfort. If so-called justice was only used to serve their own citizens and used to pursue their self-interests, then how different was it from evil?

“Commit suicide, please!” Gino whispered to the computer screen.

As if he heard his prayer, Shi Xiaobai suddenly stabbed Xiao Xiao in the heart!

“Holy shit, this bastard must have done that by luck, right!?”

Roy had spat out the cigarette dangling by his mouth.

…

…

In the virtual world.

After Xiao Xiao’s heart was pierced, she nearly did not experience any pain before losing her consciousness. She then softly slumped into Shi Xiaobai’s arms.

A few seconds later, Xiao Xiao’s body transformed into a white light that shot up into the sky, disappearing from this world.

“Goodbye, Little Little 1. I wish we will meet one day in the real world.”

Shi Xiaobai sighed and lifted his knife to aim at his heart, preparing to stab down at it.

“Wait!”

The Arch-Cardinal hurriedly descended from the sky and said in panic, “Why are you committing suicide!?”

Shi Xiaobai was stunned for a moment before he looked at the Arch-Cardinal as though he was looking at a retard. He said matter-of-factly, “Committing suicide allows me to leave this darn place, so why shouldn’t I commit suicide?”

The Arch-Cardinal was alarmed as he stammered, “How…How did you…you know the secret?”

Shi Xiaobai had his knife to his chest, so he was in no hurry to commit suicide. So he suddenly imitated the Arch-Cardinal’s flattering tone and said, “Your Grace Bishop of Virtuality, thank you for bestowing your favor. This lowly person will definitely live up to your expectations. With the ability to make powerful summons, this lowly person will immediately dedicate the two worms to you!”

The Arch-Cardinal stared with widened eyes as though he had seen a ghost.

Shi Xiaobai immediately used a dignified posture and said, “This Bishop does not like trash. You are now on your own. Make sure not to let the two of them commit suicide or they will leave this world. You have to plant the virtuality virus into their consciousness by all means, or else…hmph!”

The Arch-Cardinal immediately began sweating profusely as he said in disbelief, “Impossible, how do you know the contents of my conversation with His Grace!?”

Shi Xiaobai sneered and said, “Foolish mortal, This King is omniscient.”

“You can hear my mental conversation with His Grace?

The Arch-Cardinal’s voice suddenly began to tremble as he whispered, “To be able to hear mental conversations…that’s…the Audition of God!? No, that’s impossible. You clearly have the Vision of God, how can you have the Audition of God? This is against common sense. Humans cannot possess two Six Senses of God at the same time. You..you…you aren’t human!”

When Shi Xiaobai heard this, he could not help but nod his head in agreement. He said loudly, “Foolish mortal, you have finally touched the Door of Truth. That’s right. This King is the King of kings. I am neither god nor demon or human. This King is a supreme existence, an existence that transcends everything!”

After saying that, Shi Xiaobai felt delighted. Indeed, as a King of kings, he was destined not to be able to keep a low profile. People would incidentally stumble upon the hidden brilliance he had.

“Alright, This King shall be leaving. Sayonara!”

Shi Xiaobai smiled as he wanted to stab himself in the heart with his knife.

Naturally, the Arch-Cardinal could not stop him in time. All he could do was roar in grief, hating that he lacked the power to instantly kill the bastard.

Everything appeared like it was ending.

Only if time did not stop.

“Make your choice, youth!”

Just as Shi Xiaobai raised the short knife up, time froze.

The familiar black text slowly materialized in front of him again.

[ Choice 1: In half an hour, make the Arch-Cardinal loudly shout “Grandpa” three consecutive times (D-level reward) ]

[ Choice 2: In half an hour, make the Arch-Cardinal loudly shout “Hubby” three consecutive times (C-level reward) ]

(Gentle Reminder: This choice is considered a “bonus-style choice”. The mission chosen has to be completed or time would be repeated!)

“Make your choice, youth!”

…

1. Little Little (小小) is a homophone to Xiao Xiao (萧潇)