This sword…

Shen Mo stared at it blankly, unable to recall why he was holding a sword in his hand.

What had he been doing just now?

His head hurt more and more.

His temples throbbed in waves, his breathing strangely oppressed. What was happening to him?

In a daze, he saw Cheng Weicai’s worried face…

Was it a hallucination? It had to be fake…

Then he saw Pan Xiaoxin with her little face set firm, saying: “If we don’t go steal the sword, Weiwei jie will die!”

No… it was a hallucination, just a hallucination…

He closed his eyes, and Tan Xiao’s indignant figure surfaced in his mind: “So what if we have to steal a sword — I’m not scared either!”

What was going on?

What in the world was going on?!

He told himself it was fake, yet why did it feel so real! Their shared worry, urgency, anger — every emotion vivid and unmistakable!

How could it be fake?!

If they were all fake — then what about her?! That girl sitting on the ruby throne, tears streaming endlessly down her face, looking at him with glistening eyes—

“Shen Mo! The risk is too great! You should all go back!”

He had cupped her face in his hands, wiped her tears, then pressed his forehead to hers and said quietly: “Wait for us to come back.”

Shen Mo froze.

Those words still rang in his ears.

*”Weiwei, wait for us to come back.”*

*”Weiwei, I want you to win. We all want you to win. Do you understand?”*

*”Weiwei, don’t make me say farewell — because I will definitely come back…”*

*”Weiwei…”*

Shen Mo gripped the sword in his hand tighter and tighter, breathing deeply, over and over again.

How could it be fake?

How could it be fake?

Even if everything — every single thing — was fake, she could not be fake! He had already bet his life on it!

He bit down hard on the tip of his tongue, and his consciousness finally recovered a sliver of clarity.

He saw that both his legs were wrapped in black snakes — that was why he felt numb. A snake coiled around his neck — that was why he felt like he was suffocating. The splitting headache and blurred vision were because the snake venom had invaded his nervous system!

If he kept standing still, even if he wouldn’t turn to stone, sooner or later these snakes would swallow him whole!

Was it fake?

Was it real?

Regardless of the answer, he needed to make a choice.

Shen Mo violently tore the snakes off his body!

Medusa was not far away. Hearing the sound, she furrowed her brow with slight curiosity.

Seeing this, Shen Mo smiled silently.

Just as he had suspected — she couldn’t see.

Those beautiful eyes were merely decorations. Her true eyes were another pair — golden slit-pupils. The moment they turned and fell upon anything living and moving, that being would turn to stone.

The system, to prevent her from turning around too frequently, likely imposed a cooldown interval.

Based on the past few instances, each time she turned around, there was an interval of at least thirty seconds.

So the so-called question-and-answer was just misdirection — to prevent players from advancing too quickly, and to buy time for the black snakes’ venom to take effect as soon as possible.

The demoness furrowed her brow slightly, murmuring softly: “Wake up… Shen Mo, everyone is waiting for you to wake up…”

“Saying so much — is it because you’re afraid?” Shen Mo took a deep breath, slowly raising his sword. “Afraid of this blade… being thrust through you?”

The demoness’s expression changed drastically!

She was about to turn her head — but Shen Mo charged forward in several steps, raising the sword and driving it straight into her face!

“AAAAAAA——!!!”

A piercing shriek of agony rang through the entire cavern!

The rusted iron sword was impossibly sharp. It pierced straight through her skull!

He twisted it forcefully, and a crack rang out —

Like a walnut splitting apart.

Vivid red blood washed over the blade, the rust gradually clearing away. The rough hilt, bathed in blood, blazed with golden light, revealing a dazzling ruby.

Shen Mo looked at that gemstone and finally let out a long breath, releasing his grip.

The King’s Sword shimmered brilliantly, dissolving into countless points of light and vanishing before his eyes.

Shen Mo looked at that now-empty space and murmured softly: “Weiwei… I want you to win.”

*Even if this is only a dream, I want you to win.*

—