With Qiu Xuerong clearing the way, Mo Bai and Du Heng encountered no further obstacles. They raced along the roads that were not covered by the snow leaves and soon arrived at the center of the town.

The town center was a square, and across from it stood a 21-story office building that looked quite imposing.

There was no snow within the square or around the office building, as if an invisible barrier enveloped the area, preventing Qiu Xuerong's power from reaching it.

Clearly, there was a domain here.

Standing in the square, Mo Bai could feel her heart pounding violently.

“Xiao Qi, what’s my heart rate?” Mo Bai asked.

“The player’s current heart rate is as high as 220.” Xiao Qi said fearfully.

With a heart rate like that, an ordinary person would probably have to be rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.

But players were much physically stronger than ordinary people. Mo Bai could still hold on, and she could even move normally.

She estimated that her body could currently withstand a heart rate of 300 beats per minute. Beyond that, she would no longer be able to suppress her heart.

“The player’s heart rate was already very high just now. Your average heart rate along the way was as high as 180, and it was still relatively stable. But after arriving at this square, your heart rate shot up in an instant. It’s still rising continuously, and it has already reached 230.” Xiao Qi said.

“That’s a good thing. It proves that we came to the right place. Remind me when it reaches 270,” Mo Bai said.

“Okay.” Xiao Qi paused before speaking softly to Mo Bai. “Player, Xiao Qi is a little scared.”

Mo Bai was a little scared too. There were many things she feared. She was afraid that when they entered the Organ Trading Market, they would see Ye Pingjun and Ding Xun dead in horrible conditions. She was afraid of seeing Gu Tiandong turned into a card. And she was also afraid of the battle that was about to come.

But when Xiao Qi said this, Mo Bai found herself no longer afraid.

Although no one explicitly chose a leader, Mo Bai knew that, consciously or unconsciously, everyone looked to her.

As long as she did not show an expression of despair, the others would not be afraid.

She couldn't be afraid, and she mustn't be afraid. She had to keep moving forward.

“What are you afraid of?” Mo Bai asked.

“Xiao Qi is afraid that the player will despair.” Xiao Qi said.

“I thought you’d be afraid of danger. I didn’t expect that this is what you’re afraid of,” Mo Bai said.

“Because the player was very desperate before. You didn’t know how to keep going, and in the end, it was the goal of becoming an Ultimate Player that allowed you to persevere. But now, we’ve just learned that the highest rank in the Observation Group is Advance-9. Xiao Qi is afraid that there won’t be a path forward, so the player might give up.” Xiao Qi said.

“I’ll keep going,” Mo Bai said firmly. “Just because Qiu Xuerong couldn’t do it doesn’t mean I necessarily can’t.”

“The player is so confident this time!” Xiao Qi’s voice became lively again.

Mo Bai said, “I have a feeling that Xing Shuo knows something. He wants to tell me, but because he can’t say it directly, he can only provide me with clues and let me figure it out myself. Given that his goal is ‘Mending Heaven,’ I think the information he wants to convey to me should align with my own goal.”

“Then does the player know what the so-called ‘truth’ is?” Xiao Qi asked.

“I’m just a little short of figuring it out,” Mo Bai said.

“What are you missing?” Xiao Qi asked. “Should Xiao Qi secretly try asking the Main System?”

Mo Bai smiled. “That won’t be necessary. I think I’ll have the answer very soon.”

After reassuring Xiao Qi, she turned to Du Heng. “How much do you know about the player from Six Paths?”

Mending Heaven, Avici, and Six Paths. For Disease Town, two players came from each organization. Mo Bai had already met three of them. She eliminated Li Ming and learned quite a bit about Pang Mian and Xie Xingchen, even figuring out the strongest cards in both their hands. Only the final player remained hidden in the shadows.

“It should be Dai Qianzhong*. She’s a female player whose name is completely at odds with what she actually looks like. She’s petite and adorable, but her abilities are extremely terrifying. She’s a Nature-type player with earth-type abilities. Her powers are gravity manipulation and earth manipulation. When she unleashes her full strength, she can trigger a localized earthquake. Of course, once she causes an earthquake, she can also be crushed to death by it herself,” Du Heng said.

“‘Should be’?” Mo Bai asked.

“It was from the team... Xing Shuo gave me the information. It was predicted by Wind Whisperer. Wind Whisperer’s prophecies are 99% accurate,” Du Heng said.

“How can the accuracy rate be calculated so precisely? Did they actually conduct statistics?” As a science student, Mo Bai was very curious about this figure.

Du Heng said, “No. So far, all of Wind Whisperer’s prophecies have been 100% accurate. The prophecies made by the seers of the other two organizations have also been 100% accurate. Both Six Paths and Mending Heaven believe that fate cannot be changed.

They believe that the trajectory of a person’s fate is already determined at birth, and that the total amount of everything is fixed. How much food you can eat, how much you can accomplish, how much money you can earn in your lifetime, how long you will live, the highest level of achievement you can reach, and so on. Everything is predetermined, so struggle and effort are meaningless.

Xing Shuo said that what they believe is broadly correct. Everything in the world has its ‘fixed number.’ Under normal circumstances, the course of the world will steadily move forward according to these ‘fixed numbers.’

But besides ‘fixed numbers,’ this world also has ‘variables.’

The probability of a ‘variable’ occurring may be one percent, one in ten million, one in ten thousand, or even one in a hundred million. Humanity might wait tens of millions of years and still encounter only a single ‘variable.’

But this tiny ‘variable’ can create enormous waves. It can change an entire era, alter the fate of humanity for hundreds or thousands of years to come, and overturn all the ‘fixed numbers’ that the world originally set. It then takes a very long time to calculate a new set of ‘fixed numbers’ based on the elements introduced by the ‘variable.’

Xing Shuo said that Mending Heaven is waiting for this ‘variable’ to appear. That’s why he never says that the Wind Whisperer’s accuracy rate is 100%. The 1% he leaves open is the ‘variable,’ and it is also hope.”

“Xing Shuo told you all of this before you left too, didn’t he?” Mo Bai asked.

“Yes,” Du Heng said.

Mo Bai scratched her ear. She wasn’t being arrogant, but she always felt that Xing Shuo’s true intended conversation partner was actually her, while Du Heng was merely the messenger.

“Do you know what powerful cards she has?” Mo Bai asked.

“Not clearly. In any case, she definitely has an S Rank card, but so do we. When you were fighting the townspeople just now, Sister Xue slipped two cards into my hands, one S Rank and one A Rank. I already have the S Rank ‘Scythe of Death,’ so I can’t use another S Rank card. This one is for you.” Du Heng handed a card to Mo Bai.

Mo Bai did not refuse. She was genuinely short on combat options right now.

[

Card Name: Black Boots

Card Rank: S-rank

Card Type: Item Card

Card Effect: Black is the color of the earth, and these boots possess the power of the land. Any ground stepped on by these boots belongs to the boots. Wherever it walks, there is no danger. The effect disappears once the Black Boots are removed.

How to Use: Simply put on the Black Boots and walk.

Detailed Description: You’re clever, so you’ve surely figured it out by now. The Black Boots are a living tool. They don’t merely occupy land, but they also attempt to occupy the body.

After wearing them for 10 minutes, you will lose 10% control over your body.

After more than 50 minutes, you will no longer be able to remove the boots on your own free will. You will need someone else to help you.

After more than 80 minutes, you can only ask someone else to cut off your legs in order to free yourself from the boots.

After more than 100 minutes, you become a human-shaped accessory attached to the boots. It will “wear” you as it conquers the world, until someone else defeats it and turns it back into a card.

After removing the boots, the boots’ control over your body will remain for 12 hours. After 12 hours, your body will return to normal, and you can put the boots on again.

The second time you wear the boots, the rate of erosion will double. The erosion after 10 minutes will reach 20%. If you remove the boots after wearing them a second time, the parts of your body that have been eroded will be permanently damaged and will not recover.

Note: If you have the ability to make it submit to you, it will obediently become a soldier under your command and help you conquer new territory. However, it is not a loyal general. The moment you become weaker, it will try to “put you on” again.

]

“This card is practically tailor-made to counter Dai Qianzhong and Xie Xingchen,” Mo Bai said.

This was clearly a domain-level item. Wherever someone wearing the Black Boots walked, the ground would be transformed into the Black Boots’ domain.

If Mo Bai wore the Black Boots and walked throughout the Organ Trading Market, Dai Qianzhong’s gravity and earth-based abilities would become ineffective.

And once Mo Bai put on the Black Boots, Xie Xingchen would no longer be able to launch a sneak attack on her.

The card was undeniably powerful, but its side effects were equally terrifying.

“This card can only really be used by Sister Xue. She can cut off any part of her body that has been taken over, and as long as her head remains intact, the rest of her body can regenerate. Sister Xue used the Black Boots four times before, but she doesn’t want to use a card like this again,” Du Heng explained.

“But the first use isn’t too dangerous. Even if the erosion exceeds 50%, as long as someone helps you take the boots off, you can recover. Everyone must remember that these boots can't be worn for more than an hour, and each person can only wear them once.”

Mo Bai hadn't worn the Black Boots yet, so she could use this S-rank card in the current instance.

If Mo Bai faced Dai Qianzhong in battle, she could quickly wear the Black Boots. For that period, Dai Qianzhong’s abilities wouldn't be able to harm Mo Bai.

As for the card Du Heng kept for himself, it was called the Exoskeleton Puppet, a set of exoskeleton equipment. Once the exoskeleton was put on, the wearer could continue fighting regardless of what injuries they sustained. Even if their heart were pierced and they lost their life, they could still keep fighting. The Exoskeleton Puppet would only stop once more than 50% of the body was destroyed.

“I was originally going to borrow this card from Sister Xue when I was paralyzed from the waist down,” Du Heng said.

“Can this card be used in conjunction with your abilities?” Mo Bai asked.

“Yes. I can keep using Soul Reaping indefinitely. Even if I die, the exoskeleton can still control my body and make me continue fighting,” Du Heng said.

“What if your energy runs out?” Mo Bai asked.

Du Heng said, “If I don’t stop the exoskeleton, it will draw energy from my brain until my brain is completely depleted. Then it will mechanically swing ‘Scythe of Death’ until the body is completely destroyed and can no longer be used.

You’ve had nosebleeds from overusing your abilities before, right? The energy bar exists to protect our brains. Forcing ourselves to use power beyond the energy bar’s limit damages part of the brain. It doesn’t mean that we’re actually incapable of fighting anymore. In reality, the brain still has a huge reserve of mental energy, which is far more than the amount we can normally use.”

Mo Bai frowned. “This card is vicious.”

“I won’t use it unless we’re truly fighting to the death,” Du Heng said.

“Now that even this card has been brought out, we’re really about to have a final showdown.” Xiao Qi spoke nervously inside Mo Bai’s mind.

“As long as I’m still alive, no matter what I become, I won’t let Du Heng use the ‘Exoskeleton Puppet,’” Mo Bai said.

The two rode their motorcycles around the office building once. The main entrance was tightly locked, but at the back, they found an extremely well-hidden small door that was almost indistinguishable from the outer wall.

Mo Bai discovered this door using the Prying Lenses.

After an entire instance of use, even with one repair from Liu Congyi along the way, the Prying Lenses was already battered and tattered. They could be used only one more time at most.

Mo Bai’s abilities depended heavily on these glasses. Before entering the small door, she stared at the battered glasses, and a thought suddenly occurred to her: What would happen if I used “Environmental Assimilation” to fuse with these glasses?

Would the glasses become permanently integrated into her body, along with their ability being absorbed by her?

“No!” Xiao Qi reminded Mo Bai. “Assimilation means making the environment obey your will. It doesn’t mean becoming the environment! This isn’t some kind of matter absorption or environmental absorption ability! Stop thinking about randomly assimilating things and turning yourself into some kind of bizarre chimera!”

“I was just wondering. I can't even use my abilities right now, let alone talk about these things?” Mo Bai said.

She pushed open the small door and entered first.

Behind the small door was an electronic doorway, much like the security gates people walk through at checkpoints. It could scan for certain prohibited items.

Mo Bai pushed against the wall beside the electronic doorway, but the wall did not budge. It was protected by a domain.

It seemed that entering the Organ Trading Market required passing through this door.

Mo Bai walked through.

The electronic doorway beeped and emitted a mechanical voice: “Hello, Customer No. 4444. According to our inspection, all of your internal organs, blood, and even your genetic information require replacement. The total cost of replacement is 100 R. Please prepare sufficient funds. If you do not have enough funds this time, you may return and raise the necessary amount. You may submit funds multiple times. Once you have accumulated enough to cover the cost, you may proceed with the exchange.”

I need to replace my entire body? Mo Bai wondered in confusion. Could it be because I fused with the genes of an Ultra-Star-Rank monster, making me prone to losing my sense of self? Is that why this domain determined that I need to replace my organs?

“What currency is R?” Du Heng asked. “Could it be RMB?”

As he spoke, he walked through the doorway as well. A dialog box immediately popped up on the electronic doorway: 

[Are you an accompanying party member of Customer No. 4444? If not, please leave. We do not receive outside guests.]

Naturally, Du Heng selected “Yes.”

Immediately afterward, Mo Bai heard another mechanical voice: “The accompanying party member of Customer No. 4444 possesses an exceptionally excellent physical constitution. His entire body can be used as material, which is worth more than two people. Market trading price: 2 R.”

Mo Bai: “……”

R means people?