There were still sixteen minutes until the toxin took effect, and like he wished, Feng Bujue obtained the Contra Medal that was made using the combined power of Aldan, Billy, and Ravid. The effect had not changed, but it could be taken out of the scenario, and there was only one.
After gaining the actual benefit, Feng Bujue revealed a satisfied expression. He picked up the One-Shot-Kill Pistol from the table and said, “There is one more thing I need to confirm. If, and I mean if… once I step out of this door and am killed instantly by Faust, this medal will trigger its effect and revive me, yes?”
“Yes, as long as you carry this medal, whether you are inside or outside the door, inside or outside the prison, even if you’re in the territory of the Four Pillars of Divinity, when you die, the medal will trigger its effect, and you’ll revive with full stats,” Billy replied. “Don’t worry, when you open the door, we will leave with you. We will help you block Faust’s attacks. You only need to point the gun at him and pull the trigger. I will maintain the maximum damage on the bullet, and you’ll be able to kill him with one shot.”
“After his death,” Aldan added, “you get your potion and transport out while we escape from this endless rotation and break out of prison.”
“Then we will go our separate ways, and no one will be indebted to the other,” Billy concluded.
“Hmm, that’s prefect.” Feng Bujue smiled. “Even though you tricked me into following your plan at the start, I believe that was because we were not familiar with each other and did not trust each other. Now that we have confirmed each other’s goals and completed a win-win transaction, from the way you act, I believe all of you are honest and reliable individuals, so you won’t double-cross me, right?”
“Right, stop wasting time!” Billy groused with impatience. “Do you suffer from paranoia? We don’t have much time, and we’ve already given you the reward, so get to work!”
“Fine, fine.” Feng Bujue turned around and realized with a shock that all the four corridors had disappeared. In their place was a wall, and in the middle of it was a large door.
“Don’t be surprised. The size and appearance of this place is always just a mere form.” Billy’s voice accompanied the sound of the cell door creaking open.
Feng Bujue turned around and noticed that Billy was already seated on a small tricycle and was slowly moving toward him. Even Ravid had escaped the second cell. Both he and Aldan looked at Feng Bujue, waiting for this traveler to open the door.
Feng Bujue looked at the three of them, shrugged, and walked forward.
…
The door opened, and the group rushed through it to enter a gray space that looked rather spartan.
Faust was standing about ten meters away from the door, and he had the appearance of an ancient roman soldier. His armor, skin, pupils, and hair were all as gray as cement. If he had not turned his neck around, one could easily have mistaken him for a statue.
“As I expected,” Faust said, “traveler from another dimension, you’ve sided with the inmates, haven’t you?”
“Oh?” When Feng Bujue heard that, many speculations already went through his mind. “Since you said that, I presume that you obtained information about me before I even arrived at this prison like the rest of them.”
“Indeed,” Faust replied. “And I managed to guess that you would side with them. You are not powerful enough to snatch the chemical potions from them and find the door.
“So… no matter what you experienced inside the prison, when you arrived here, we were bound to be enemies.”
“I’m glad that you understand that.” Feng Bujue raised the gun, and the intention to kill flashed in his eyes. His hand that held the gun was firm and powerful.
BANG!
The gun rang out.
Ravid’s head burst again. Other than Feng Bujue, all the others were filled with shock. Even Faust asked internally, What is going on?
After killing Ravid, Feng Bujue did not pause and aimed the gun at Billy. This time, he fired multiple times. Even in anger, Billy reacted very quickly. He immediately made the gun in Feng Bujue’s grasp disappear, and all the bullets moved from their trajectory. Even so, due to the close distance and Billy’s abysmal physical ability, Billy’s right chest was shot, and he was injured.
“You…” Billy hissed dangerously. “Aldan, kill…”
He could not finish that sentence because an incredibly evil burst of energy radiated from around Feng Bujue, and this was enough to make a monster at Billy’s level freeze in fear.
“Hmm… Looks like I was successful,” Feng Bujue said with a wicked smile. The moment the gun disappeared, he already activated his only ultimate—Wicked King Immolation Black Dragon Wave. Feng Bujue’s sorcery was level E, so he had a forty percent chance of activating this skill. But with the buff from the Alchemist’s Determination, the success rate of all his active skills rose a ten percent. To put it simply, he had a fifty percent chance of failing.
An evil aura bloomed from Feng Bujue’s right arm before it crawled all over Feng Bujue. His body was wreathed in a whirlpool of dark energy, and it slowly materialized into the shape of a dragon.
Wicked King Immolation Black Dragon Wave’s presence was enough to freeze everyone present. The level of user aside, the power of the skill alone was unrivalled.
Feng Bujue opened his legs and assumed the horse stance. He placed his left hand on his right shoulder, straightened his right arm, and curl his five fingers into a fist… One could hear a dragon’s roar, and a black flame dragon burst forth with its jaws snapping. It swallowed the puppet on the tricycle easily.
This skill was so fast and so powerful, and it was a homing skill. Before Billy could react, he was already detained by the evil energy and could not escape even if he wanted to. Even Aldan, who was next to him, was frozen in place.
“Item Contra Medal has been exhausted.” This time, the medal was really used. The exhaustion of Wicked King Immolation Black Dragon Wave was one hundred percent of his Life Points. With such a huge sacrifice, the damage was scary. Billy was swallowed whole, and not even a wood chip remained.
After Feng Bujue killed Billy, he was swallowed up by the black flame, but he soon revived with full stats and used a proud gaze to look at the remaining Aldan.
“Before you charge at me with anger…” he slowly retreated to stand next to Faust. “You’d better consider the current situation. I remember Billy said that of the three of you, only he has the power to beat Faust… so if I were you, I wouldn’t sacrifice myself for no reason. Return to the prison with your current power level and prepare to welcome the new monster that will soon arrive.”
Faust finally understood what was happening. He turned to look at Feng Bujue next to him and said with sincerity, “You sure are one slimy thing…”
“You’ve tricked, lied and made use of us…” Aldan hissed through his teeth.
“You did that to me first, remember?” Feng Bujue mocked. “But you are not a good enough liar and failed, so I’m showing you the correct way to play someone.”
“You even used the pistol and the medal that we gave you to trick us…”
“Hmm… You are all indeed honest people and gave me all the information I need during the negotiation… like your powers, how these items work, and how the rest of you match up to Faust.” Feng Bujue shrugged. “You even gave me the thing that I need so that I could confidently pull this plan off.”
“You dirty, despicable, evil…” Even when he was scolding Feng Bujue, Aldan’s choice of words was civilized, so it looked like he was not programed to curse.
“Enough, Aldan.” Faust cut him off. “Your history with this traveler from another dimension is none of my business, but I have a role to follow. I order you to return to the prison, or I will have to send you back myself.”
Aldan’s blue eyes slowly dimmed. His gaze locked onto Feng Bujue for a very long time like he wished to imprint this man’s image in his mind. Ten seconds later, he turned and headed back into the prison, and the door closed again…
“Phew…” After Feng Bujue saw Aldan leave, he sighed in relief. When the second breath entered his lung, he turned to Faust and said obsequiously, “Please, if you have the unknown chemical potion…”
“Of course… of course…” Faust extended his hand and handed the potion to Feng Bujue.
As Feng Bujue accepted the potion, the system said, “Main quest progress updated. Find the chemical potions (4/4). Current quest completed. Main quest updated.”
The new quest in the menu read, “Combine unknown chemical potions A, B, C, D into the antidote.”
The system paused for two seconds before asking, “Do you wish to combine the specific plot items?”
Feng Bujue pressed the yes button. The three other potions disappeared instantly, and the one in his hand dissolved into white light. The data morphed into a new item—Antidote.
Feng Bujue did not drink it immediately but turned to Faust and said, “By the way… Boss, now that I’ve helped you with this jailbreak, aren’t you going to reward me?”
He turned to look up at Faust, but the warden next to Feng Bujue petrified. He examined it closer and realized that this Faust really had turned back into a statue.
“You didn’t help me with anything. You merely helped yourself.” Faust’s voice came from another direction. Feng Bujue turned to the sound, and a Faust dripping in silver walked toward him. “No matter where you stand, they are never going to escape. Every time they come here, they merely kill a statue that I’ve created.”
“You…” Feng Bujue’s expression shifted slightly before comprehension dawned on him. “I get it now. There is no curse of the Master of Time at all. From the very beginning, it was all you.”
“Humph… of course.” Faust smirked. “Why would the master send someone weaker than the inmates to be the warden? This statue is made from special magical material…”
Faust patted the gray statue that looked like him. “My power level naturally isn’t below Billy’s. In a one-on-one fight, they are not my match… but if all three of them gang up together, they do indeed pose a bit of trouble…”
“Therefore, you set this trap…” Feng Bujue took a few steps and studied the gray statue. “The people who ’kill’ this statue will have their power taken away?”
Faust’s gaze followed Feng Bujue, and as the latter moved, so did Faust, and he turned to face away from the prison gate.
“In reality… it doesn’t matter who kills the statue. Once the statue is broken, everyone within this ’door space’ will have their power taken,” Faust explained. “So, I’ve been residing beyond this space, controlling the statue to fight them from afar, and they have been assuming that the statue is the real me.
“Haha… Every time they killed the statue, they revert to their weakest form. That way, the real me can easily send them back to prison without much effort.”
“After this repeated a few times, they naturally came to suspect this phenomenon…” Feng Bujue followed his lead and concluded.
“Indeed, that was how I created this so-called ’rotation’. I told them that this was the curse of the Master of Time. No matter how many times they’ve killed me, it’s pointless. They will only enter a new rotation.” Faust nodded and opened his arms. “I used this method to resolve their constant jailbreak attempts. The other work was comparatively simple. I only needed to toss in a few monsters every now and then to keep them company.”
“Hmm…” Feng Bujue licked his lips. “Looks like… in terms of sliminess, you’re not so bad yourself.”
“Is that a compliment?” Faust scoffed. “In terms of lying, I am slightly weaker than you are.”
“Hahaha… hahaha…” Feng Bujue tossed his head back and laughed like a madman. Suddenly, the laughter stopped, and a wicked grin paused on his face. “No… not slightly weaker but much weaker.”
At that moment, Faust’s expression froze. Chilly spikes came from various parts of his body. He lowered his head to look, and a cluster of shadows had already weaved around his neck, wrist, and knees…
“I suggest you do not move. I am currently flowing through your blood.” Aldan’s voice rang in Faust’s ears.
At the same time, the creaking of a tricycle came from behind him…
Billy rode the tricycle slowly before stopping before Faust. He raised his creepy face and asked, “Have you been kicked by a furry animal before?”
“What…” When Faust heard that question, he noticed something and turned his head around.
Ravid was two meters up in the air, spinning and whipping his powerful hind leg. He aimed rightly at Faust’s face, cursing loudly. “Take this—”
