Chapter 177
That shot from Lu Chuan was nothing less than a bold provocation against [God of Empty Dreams].
As he tore free of the human body, the god almost lashed out, eager to punish the opportunistic mortal. But Number Six was too great a threat; [God of Empty Dreams] dared not linger, fleeing as fast as possible—even as the Infinite Holy Pistol siphoned his divine energy.
He simply couldn’t comprehend how such a creature could exist: a being immune to parasitism and possession, whose sanity was almost nonexistent, beyond divine influence, and whose soul seemed stitched together from countless gods—a sheer impossibility.
Better to flee, even if injured, than stay. As for his believers, they were beneath concern.
Lu Chuan didn’t delay either. After topping up his ammo, he turned tail and bolted without a backward glance.
Those left behind were far less fortunate.
[Plague Rat] shed his original mantle of authority, leaving his body behind for Number Six, while his true self escaped. His blessed followers, though terrified by the predator’s oppressive aura, still fought to buy him a little time.
Number Six had meant to chase Lu Chuan, but the [Plague Rat] avatar tasted delightful—and he’d just snagged a piece of the god’s true body too. It was exquisite. So, for now, he abandoned the pursuit.
“Hu—” Lu Chuan sprinted at full speed, cold sweat nearly dripping from his forehead. “Number 6 is basically a killing god. Who knows when he’ll catch up? Hopefully, he just focuses on devouring the gods and won’t come after me.”
[That might be a bit difficult, Host.] #888 replied helplessly. [The divine seeds inside you are extremely powerful. To Number 6, you’re nearly as attractive as those high-level gods.]
“…System, sometimes, you don’t have to tell the truth.” Lu Chuan rolled his eyes. “We’re heading for the territory of the [Omniscience God]. The problem isn’t having too little, but unfair distribution. I tricked [Dream of Nothingness] already, so next is [Omniscience God], and then [Mother of Fertility]. In the end, none of them are escaping!”
[Understood, Host. I’ll start scanning now.]
Whether it was due to Number 6’s arrival or not, the god-war escalated drastically.
Once he started eating, it was hard to stop. After devouring the mortal bodies of two gods, Number 6 felt a rare sense of fullness—but it was still far from enough. If he could also devour that player, it would be perfect.
Number 6 licked his tongue, chasing after Lu Chuan’s aura while snacking on lesser “treats” along the way.
This journey spelled disaster for many gods.
Word soon spread among the divine: a terrifying being had appeared, one that devoured gods themselves. Even [Dream of Nothingness] had suffered greatly at his hands. The best survival tactic when encountering this creature was to abandon part of your body to buy time to flee. If you were even slightly slower, you’d be eaten whole—resurrection nearly impossible, no different from true annihilation.
But even with warnings, very few gods could actually escape once they ran into Number 6.
Humans, on the other hand, slowly realized something was wrong. Gods who once answered prayers had been absent for a long time. Some priests died inexplicably, and churches collapsed. Among mortals, an organization called the “Investigators” rose, teaching survival knowledge and guiding ordinary people in the new world.
They even revealed the truth: gods were unusually quiet because a divine war had broken out.
This era of history would be recorded and passed down.
Meanwhile, Lu Chuan was still “kite-flying,” luring Number 6 across the world, forcing [Omniscience God] and [Mother of Fertility] to sacrifice parts of their territories and mortal vessels to avoid being devoured entirely.
During this process, Lu Chuan gathered massive hatred.
The moment [Omniscience God] and [Mother of Fertility] realized he had lured Number 6 onto them, they wished nothing more than to rip Lu Chuan to pieces.
They had no personal grudges with him, yet he dragged a terrifying monster straight into their laps. If they ever caught him, he would suffer horribly.
Lu Chuan, of course, didn’t care.
Hmph.
To him, the words of gods were as worthless as farts. They didn’t care for cooperation or communication. They were selfish beings who betrayed the moment it benefited them. After the lesson with [Rat of Plague], Lu Chuan had learned to be far more cautious.
But his luck was running out.
As the number of surviving gods dwindled, so did Number 6’s “food supply.” The scraps left behind weren’t enough to keep him distracted.
In other words—once the gods were eaten, Number 6 turned his sights directly on Lu Chuan.
Lu Chuan nearly groaned aloud.
Wasn’t Number 6 supposed to be chasing Wen Renxu, the Time God? Yet Wen Renxu hadn’t even shown a shadow, while Number 6 chased only him!
He wanted to howl at the sky but swallowed the urge, afraid it would give away his location.
[Host, Number 6 is chasing you again.] #888 said anxiously. [He seems stronger than before, but far less rational. Even maintaining his humanoid form is difficult for him now.]
Lu Chuan wiped his face, pulled out his tattered flying contraption, and leapt aboard.
Next time, he’d need to pack better escape gear.
Was there really nothing that could completely mask the aura of divine seeds?
He wanted to curse.
No wonder so many top-tier players dreaded the word “Executor.” These creatures weren’t just unreasonable—they were also impossible to negotiate with.
Cang Jiu had led him astray!
Lu Chuan had assumed most Executors were like him. But Number 6 devoured everything, mindless and monstrous. He was practically a living garbage disposal the Main God System had designed to clean up rebellious gods and mutated players.
They had no ambitions, no thoughts, just insatiable hunger. Which meant the system never had to fear betrayal.
What a terrifyingly useful creation.
[Host, look out!]
888’s warning came a second too late. A black line struck Lu Chuan’s flying device, shattering it instantly.
Lu Chuan twisted midair, flipped twice, and landed safely on the ground.
Normally, he would’ve praised his survival reflexes. But right now, he wasn’t laughing.
The area was blanketed with countless black lines, and within them, Number 6’s many eyes opened.
How to describe him now?
At first encounter, he had been terrifying but still somewhat comprehensible, retaining shreds of reason. Lu Chuan hadn’t been too scared.
Now, after devouring so many gods, Number 6 had lost nearly all sanity. His eyes were clouded and bloodthirsty, his body shifting constantly—sometimes insectile, sometimes a towering monster, sometimes nothing but countless black threads or smoke.
He couldn’t even hold a fixed form anymore.
Surrounded.
Instead of panicking, Lu Chuan grew calm.
The more dangerous the situation, the more he needed a clear head.
Glancing around, he realized brute escape was nearly impossible.
But not hopeless. His pistols were fully loaded—enough to stall Number 6 a little. Worst case, he could trigger his “God of Wealth” skill, burning his fortune to deliver a heavy blow. But if he did, Number 6 would never stop chasing him afterward. That was a last resort.
“Let’s make a deal. I’ve already fed you so many gods—how about you let me go for now? I’ll bring you more. You know the difference between one feast and endless feasts, right?” Lu Chuan offered.
“No.” Number 6 flatly refused. “You look tastier.”
The hell?! I’m a skinny twig compared to one of your eyeballs. What’s so tasty about me?!
Lu Chuan snapped, “I haven’t even mutated. If you eat me, the Main God System won’t let you off!”
“Then they’ll dock some merit points. So be it.” Black lines whipped toward him. Lu Chuan dodged, but one sliced his arm.
Number 6 licked the blood from his tendrils. All his eyes gleamed. “Delicious. Just as good as a high-level god.”
If he’d been casual before, now he was ravenous.
The swarm of threads and insects surged at Lu Chuan. They were tiny, ever-shifting, impossible to aim at.
Bullets would be wasted.
Lu Chuan scrambled for other tools, hoping for an opening to shoot Number 6 directly.
But the longer it went, the more exhausted he grew. He’d never been a combat specialist. Against a mindless eater who couldn’t be reasoned with, he had no chance.
Smart people always feared fools. And Lu Chuan—being the smartest of the smart—most feared this kind of food-driven idiot.
888 grew desperate, ready to activate escape protocols, even if it meant abandoning this world with Lu Chuan’s soul.
Grinding his teeth, Lu Chuan pulled out the [Seed of Exchange] ring and slipped it on.
The divine power instantly drew Number 6’s attention.
[Perfect, Host! A conceptual seed really distracts him. If we throw it away, we can escape!] #888 cheered.
“Don’t joke, System. This seed won’t buy me enough time. Once he eats it, he’ll keep chasing me. If I want to survive, I’ll have to gamble with the [Seed of Fertility].” Lu Chuan wasn’t naive. Pushed this far, he had no choice.
As Number 6 fixated on the [Seed of Exchange], Lu Chuan activated its power.
[Wait, Host—!] #888 realized what he intended. No, this was suicide! Lu Chuan’s body couldn’t possibly withstand the full power of an Executor.
It was a death sentence!
The S-rank item [Seed of Exchange] had two abilities: one, forcibly swapping items with a target. Two, temporarily exchanging abilities with a target for three minutes. The cost was one A-rank item plus sanity—5 sanity points burned per minute.
Lu Chuan placed his last Sanity Card on himself and immediately activated the [Seed of Exchange] in his hand.
[Detected: Player “Arrival of the God of Wealth” has used S-Rank item Seed of Exchange. Designated target: Executor Number 6.]
At that moment, the system notification rang out.
The figure-eight ring burst into a blinding light, instantly enveloping both sides.
Number 6 didn’t seem to understand what was happening, but he could feel the vast power in his body rapidly draining away, transferring into another person.
[Exchange successful!]
The instant the Seed of Exchange was activated, every god in this world seemed to turn their gaze toward it. A concept god’s divine power seed, no matter when, was enough to draw attention.
And even far away in another instance, the God of Exchange felt his seed of power being used.
Yet when the God of Exchange tried to trace the user of the seed, he found his connection cut off by another power—
Not the Main God System, but a true god above it!
Cang Jiu sighed.
He knew the moment Lu Chuan entered the “Forbidden Zone for Humanity” instance, it was impossible for him to quietly get through it like before. That was why he’d advised him to stock up a divine power seed in advance.
But he hadn’t expected Lu Chuan to use the Seed of Exchange to go head-to-head, instead of first consuming the Seed of Fertility as a substitute.
Still, this was exactly Lu Chuan’s style.
If anyone could always predict his next move, then he wouldn’t be Lu Chuan.
Cang Jiu flicked the ingot that embodied Lu Chuan’s desire, and the ingot gave off a crisp, pleasant chime.
From this moment onward, Lu Chuan was truly stepping onto the path of the gods.
Lu Chuan’s body felt as though it were overflowing with endless power.
He couldn’t describe it. It was like being overstuffed—unable to digest, forcing him to redirect his attention elsewhere.
He didn’t even notice that his body was nearly a man of blood, every part ravaged by the overwhelming power.
And yet—he felt no pain.
On the contrary, his sensations were like ice and fire.
On one side, extreme suffering from a body straining under overwhelming force. On the other, his soul felt utterly soothed.
Yes, soothed.
It was as if his soul had always been running on low charge, and now at last was fully powered up—though the socket felt a little faulty.
The body of an Executor, in some respects, was no different from a god’s body.
Compared to a mortal body, it was far more suited to channeling divine power.
Lu Chuan found the sensation bizarre, like wearing ill-fitting clothes. Not naked, but hardly comfortable either.
Number 6, sensing his own weakness, nearly doubted reality.
“You… you used the Seed of Exchange on me?
No—impossible! A player can’t possibly withstand the power of an Executor!”
As the power left him, Number 6 seemed to regain some rationality—unlike before.
Meanwhile, it was Lu Chuan who was about to lose his mind.
The surrounding black threads were now under his command. He could easily kill Number 6 in an instant.
No. More than kill him…
I want to eat him.
Help!
Lu Chuan felt this urge swelling inside him, nearly maddening.
What the hell—I don’t want to eat people!
He could only fight back by picturing himself lying atop mountains of gold and silver, to resist the horrifying hunger.
Better to kill Number 6 first, before he tempts me into devouring him!
With that thought, Lu Chuan acted.
Number 6 was turned into pulp in an instant.
“Wow.”
Lu Chuan licked his lips. “Little System, he actually looks delicious now. Like a meat pie.”
[Host, calm down! Your sanity is dropping! We need to run!] #888 urged.
“Fine.”
Using his new body’s power, Lu Chuan shot thousands of miles away in a flash. No wonder he’d always been caught before—this speed was better than the finest flying tools.
[Current Merit –0.01. You have resurrected.]
In the next instant, the pulp that was Number 6 revived again, immediately chasing.
“Damn, alive again. No wonder Cang Jiu said killing him was pointless. This revival’s too fast—what, ten seconds?” Lu Chuan cursed, smacking him into pulp again.
Ten seconds later—Number 6 revived again.
Luckily, by now Lu Chuan had widened the gap. Still, he kept one black thread extended—each time Number 6 revived, he would slap him back down instantly.
He didn’t believe it. Even if Executors could revive, their merit points couldn’t be endless. What if he actually managed to grind Number 6 down completely in these three minutes?
Well… unlikely. But a man needs dreams.
Three minutes quickly passed.
Lu Chuan could already feel his sanity plummeting, his body about to give out.
He needed to find a safe place—otherwise, once the Seed of Exchange’s power ended, his shredded body wouldn’t even be able to walk. He’d end up as Number 6’s snack.
But finding a safe place… was hard.
He gritted his teeth, thinking maybe he’d have to use the Seed of Fertility to substitute for his own death.
At that desperate moment, Lu Chuan sensed a ripple in time.
With his original body, he never could have detected it. But with the Executor’s power in him now, he was acutely sensitive to time distortions.
In this instance, only one player came to mind who could leap timelines.
Worth the gamble.
Lu Chuan forced himself toward the time ripple with the last of his strength.
Three minutes expired.
Revived again, Number 6’s face was twisted with rage—he wanted nothing more than to gnaw Lu Chuan into bone dust.
He followed the trace of Lu Chuan’s fading power.
And there, Lu Chuan, reduced to a blood-soaked husk, collapsed—only to be caught gently by another.
“Isn’t this the one who claimed to be the future vice guildmaster—Lu Chuan? How’s he ended up like this at this point in time?” Wen Renxu steadied him, shocked at his near-lifeless state. He quickly tossed a few high-grade healing items on him.
But strangely, Lu Chuan’s body wouldn’t recover. Even under such strong healing, he remained unconscious.
“…What?”
Wen Renxu scratched his hair, a little helpless.
“Throw him away.”
“Don’t play the saint now—he’s clearly being hunted because of you.”
“Something strong is coming—it’s Executor Number 6. Why won’t he quit?”
“The Executor’s after Lu Chuan.”
“Dump him. Run.”
Wen Renxu’s split personalities exploded in his head. They’d barely escaped the last instance—now Number 6 again?
“No. He’s my guild’s next guildmaster. And he’s just a kid, yet he managed to escape Number 6—how can I abandon him?” Wen Renxu smiled faintly. “Number 6 is already my old enemy. What’s there to fear?”
Number 6, now closing in, saw Wen Renxu holding Lu Chuan. His eyes flickered with rare confusion.
“Who are you? I don’t go after leaderboard players. Hand that one over, and I’ll spare you.” He glared only at Lu Chuan.
This man—who’d stolen his power and survived—was a huge problem.
“What? At this point, you don’t even recognize me? You don’t want to kill me?” Wen Renxu was stunned. In other timelines, Number 6 had chased him relentlessly. But here, he seemed not to know him at all.
Looking down at the unconscious Lu Chuan, Wen Renxu gave a bitter smile.
No way.
Could it be… because I saved Lu Chuan, that’s why Number 6 hunts me in every other timeline?
Author’s Note:
Wen Renxu: Damn it. So that’s why I’ve been endlessly hunted by Number 6 in other timelines right after entering the instance. Now I get it!
PS: To clarify—Number 6 hunting Wen Renxu was something Lu Chuan only heard about twenty years later. But now Wen Renxu has only been in the instance for a few years, meaning Lu Chuan traveled back to an earlier point on the timeline, creating the future twenty years later. I’ll sort it all out after this instance arc ends.
