Pain Immunity: Worried the Villains Aren’t Twisted Enough

Chapter 875: Why Represent Humanity? A Schemer's Perspective

Lu Ce spoke very directly, without a shred of politeness. The moment he entered, before everyone had even adjusted to his presence, he began to talk.

It was as if he had walked into his own home, and they had already been chatting for a long time.

When things are urgent, act decisively. Now was not the time for reminiscing, and there was nothing much between them worth reminiscing about.

Everyone was a bit stunned. While all eyes were drawn to him, Xie Antong found a seat and sat down, wearing a sly expression as she watched.

Although the Grand Elder looked like a candle about to be snuffed out, he still reacted first, looking at Lu Ce and saying:

“If you have information, then naturally that's the best.”

“Only, when I hear you put it that way, why do I feel that this ‘good news’ might not actually be very good?”

Lu Ce showed no expression. His mask was seven-colored now, meaning none of the original sin personas was in use — the one most like a human.

“Of course, whether something is good or bad depends on your subjective standpoint and personal judgment.”

“First, you’ve all felt the Game’s abnormalities these last two days, right?”After Lu Ce finished, everyone nodded in unison — just now, they had been discussing this very thing.

“So, do you know what’s going on?” Xu Long couldn’t help asking.

“Mm, one of the gods over there has gained some brains, Death,” Lu Ce said.

“He came specifically to speak with me, saying this Game is the final one.”

“Even the last god-player wager was probably his design.”

“He deliberately took advantage of the gods’ pride and insisted this time the Game adopt a fair mode, so that gods themselves couldn’t design it and do as they pleased.”

“In that case, if they face failure, even the risk of annihilation, it proves they underestimated humans here.”

“So they’ll use this as an excuse to persuade all the gods to change the rules, to stop invading in those convoluted ways.”

No one interrupted while he spoke — after all, this was the most direct information. Even Xie Antong wasn’t very clear on these matters.

The consciousness Pleasure had passed to her hadn’t emphasized this aspect; most of it focused on Agony...

For the Dragon Group members, this news hit painfully — an existence far stronger than you had decided to take you seriously and fight fairly...

Lu Ce continued:

“So the final moment is approaching. They’re probably meeting now. I don’t really know what conclusion those guys will pull out.”

“But the core goal should be to bypass all the rules and red tape so they can directly unleash the Game upon the world, or the gods themselves can act directly.”

“So, while there’s this final stretch of time, do whatever you want to do. Don’t leave yourself with regrets.”

As he spoke, Lu Ce spread his hands, delivering a very dark joke.

“That’s the first piece of good news.”

Xu Long’s face completely fell. The slightly optimistic idea he’d held before had been thoroughly shattered, and things were even worse than that.

At this moment, the oppressive sense of gloom in the underground room had eased considerably — after all, the heavy rain was pouring down outside, leaving no point in arguing about clouds anymore.

“This really redefines ‘good news’.”

Long Jiu, a little depressed, walked off to one side, produced a small glass bottle from who-knows-where, twisted the cap, let out a burst of liquor aroma, and drank.

“Looks like we’ll need to abandon illusions and prepare for things to get worse.”

“However, there’s one thing I’d like to ask Mr. Sin.”

“What you want to ask is of course up to you. But there’s a good chance I won’t answer,” Lu Ce said.

Long Jiu pretended he hadn’t heard that and, after finishing his drink, began:

“Currently there is a portion of divine power inside me that far exceeds my own strength.”

“Surviving and standing here to receive that power is in part thanks to you and Blank winning that Game — so, thank you for that.”

“But I want to know, if I absorb that power, how can I retain myself...?”

Speaking, Long Jiu thought a moment, refined his wording, and paraphrased what Grand Elder Nie Jiu Tian and the others had told them earlier.

“...”

“If absorbing a massive amount of divine power would turn me into another kind of being, like waking from a dream and realizing I’m not human but actually a god...”

“Then how can I act so as to preserve my original heart, to continue representing humanity and stand against the gods?”

When he finished, everyone subtly glanced at Xie Antong sitting in the corner with the corners of their eyes.

Aside from Sin — that strange, unclear freak — the only clear examples of those who had absorbed massive divine power were the Sun and Blank.

The Sun had gone mad and become the Beast; the only other living example now was her...

With Xie Antong’s eyesight, none of the gazes escaped her. Hearing Long Jiu’s metaphor, she couldn’t help smiling.

“What a vivid metaphor, truly expressive.”

At this moment, listening to Long Jiu’s question, Sin’s face shimmered with changing light. He looked up and said very earnestly:

“Why must one represent humanity?”

Everyone: !?

As though receiving the same command, most members of the Dragon Group’s Council of Elders stepped back in unison, as if staring at some abyssal monster, gazing at Lu Ce in the center.

Their expressions made it look like he was about to mutate in the next second.

But Lu Ce was unfazed. He turned his head to Xie Antong and said:

“Why don’t you explain? With that so-called final moment coming, what are your plans?”

“My goal is already very clear,” Xie Antong replied.

“No matter what you plan to do, it has nothing to do with me. I only need to do one thing, which is to resolve the identity issue between me and Pleasure.”

“Of course, most likely I will be dealt with.”

After Xie Antong’s voice reached everyone, Lu Ce turned back, speaking calmly:

“That’s the situation.”

“I can roughly understand you might be thinking about saving the world and preserving humanity.”

“But isn’t that somewhat narrow? Some things don’t require such consideration.”

“The gods will find their own, reclaim the divine power from them, and those chosen will inevitably confront their opponents to defend their power.”

“You can treat them as ‘new gods,’ but new gods and old gods will still fight...”