The feeling flashed by in an instant. Li Ming blinked, only to see Yang Momo looking at him with concern.

"Is this recorder making you uncomfortable?" she asked. "How about this. You step out of the room first, and I'll smash the tape and the recorder. Okay?"

Li Ming had no desire to stay in the room a second longer, so he fled Room 901 as if escaping.

After closing the door, Mo Bai let out a long breath.

If I didn't still need him as cheap labor, I'd kill him right now, she thought.

Xiao Qi sounded equally displeased. "Yeah, holding back is exhausting! There are way too many monsters in this dream domain. One after another. Are nightmare creatures really this strong?"

Mo Bai shook her head. "He shouldn't be this strong. I suspect there's residual power from an Ultra-Star Rank monster hidden in one of the concealed rooms. After the dream domain formed, Gao Siyun may have returned here. Her power gave this place strength it shouldn't have. I suspect that her power is inside this tape."

She picked up the cassette and examined it carefully.

The reason she had sent Li Ming away was to have the space to inspect it properly.

A mere recording capable of driving an Advanced player to mental collapse. Its power likely rivaled the documents guarded by the Dismemberment Forensic Doctor. Mo Bai suspected the tape contained crucial information.

She also listened to the recorder earlier. Li Ming nearly suffered a mental breakdown upon hearing it, yet Mo Bai herself had only caught some faint sobbing.

Amid the crying were indistinct murmurs. The voice was too soft and the background noise too chaotic. She couldn't make out what was being said.

She shook the cassette. It had no reaction.

After a moment's thought, Mo Bai placed it into the recorder, pressed play, and at the same time activated her Environmental Rejection ability, rejecting the "noise" element from the surroundings.

This time, she heard someone inside the tape saying things like "I'm sorry," "I was wrong," "Please let me go." The voice even sounded faintly familiar.

The tape simply looped these few lines. Mo Bai turned off the recorder and removed the cassette again.

Unexpectedly, this time it transformed into a card.

 

[ Card Name: Requiem of Confession

Card Type: Mutated Item Card

Card Rank: A (Mutated)

 Card Effect: Anyone who hears the voice from the tape will confess the wrongdoings they've committed. They will answer any question, though they may not admit their guilt.

 Mutated Skill: Regardless of whether the listener truly repents, they will descend into madness and use self-destructive behavior to atone for their sins.

 Usage: Play using a Walkman, recorder, or similar device.

 Duration: Total audio length: 3 hours. Currently played: 2.5 hours.

 Description: This recording is the sleep-talking of an arsonist. The criminal committed arson, assault, and intentional homicide. After committing his crimes, he attempted suicide out of fear of punishment, but was rescued by doctors and taken to the hospital for treatment.

In the hospital, the criminal suffered frequent nightmares, muttering endlessly in his sleep, growing completely deranged, constantly repeating, "I deserve to die."

His dream-mutterings transformed into this Requiem of Confession cassette, granting it the power to make sinners punish themselves.

]

 

From the card's description, Mo Bai immediately understood who had left this card behind.

As expected, Gao Siyun did not spared the arsonist who destroyed her family.

But she and Professor Yang disagreed on how to deal with him.

Gao Siyun wanted to kill him while Professor Yang wanted him to live and suffer. That was why the man attempted suicide, only to be saved by doctors.

In the end, it must have been Gao Siyun who compromised, allowing Professor Yang to bring him to the institute.

Still, Gao Siyun hadn't let him off. She tormented him brutally in his dreams before leaving behind this twisted card.

This card was strong, strong enough that anyone who heard it would die.

Unfortunately, only half an hour of playback remained and Mo Bai wouldn't dare ask Liu Congyi to repair the card, worried that the contamination might harm her.

Still, the remaining half hour was more than enough to deal with Li Ming.

Mo Bai put away the card and stuffed the recorder into her Storage Pouch, then wheeled herself out of Room 901. Smiling, she said to Li Ming, "It's all taken care of."

This time, Li Ming didn't dare to take advantage of her anymore. Instinctively, he kept his distance, letting her maneuver the wheelchair forward on her own.

After Mo Bai subdued the Requiem of Confession, the oppressive atmosphere on the 9th floor eased considerably. But Li Ming, seemingly frightened by the mental contamination, used his final card and didn't dare be careless anymore.

He tried his best to avoid Mo Bai's gaze, but she still noticed that Li Ming had likely used a card.

Li Ming's mental state had improved considerably. Straightening his back, he opened the door to Room 902 without hesitation, clearly no longer afraid of the mental contamination.

But he was also began behaving strangely.

Every five minutes, he would say something completely out of place.

Things like, "What time is it now? When will dusk arrive?"

"I like neither night nor day. I like dusk."

"Dusk is the end of day and night, the doomsday of all things."

Strange phrases like that.

Even while fighting monsters, he would mutter something similar.

If he couldn't think of anything, once five minutes passed, he would simply shout, "I love dusk!"

Mo Bai couldn't quite figure out what card he had used.

But one thing was certain. Every five minutes, Li Ming had to say the word "dusk." The word itself seemed to have power against the mental contamination of the 9th floor.

This wasn't a defensive card. It used one kind of power to fight against another.

Mo Bai guessed that he was using a card imbued with mental contamination to fight the contamination on the 9th floor.

Timing it carefully, as Li Ming reached another five-minute mark while battling the monster in Room 923, Mo Bai casually asked, "You're saying 'dusk' again. Why do you keep repeating 'dusk'?"

Li Ming was already multitasking by fighting while thinking of how to praise dusk. Hearing Mo Bai's leading question, he reflexively replied, "Dusk blesses me, I praise dusk!"

Mo Bai raised an eyebrow slightly.

His last card was interesting.

After saying that, Li Ming felt a bit uneasy. With one strike of Lightning Gun, he destroyed the soft-bodied monster in Room 923, then turned to look at Yang Momo.

At this point, Li Ming could no longer view Yang Momo with an arrogant gaze.

He realized that Yang Momo was nothing like the gentle, well-behaved girl she appeared to be. Along the way, she rarely spoke, simply watching him quietly. But Li Ming felt as though those eyes could see straight through him from inside out.

Whenever she did speak, it was always to probe for information.

Li Ming, despite his combat strength, wasn't skilled at strategy. Around teammates, he often lost control of his emotions and said impulsive things.

He admitted that he had a tendency to let things slip. Yet with Yang Momo, every single question she asked seemed to make him say something he shouldn't.

He couldn’t determine if Yang Momo was manipulating his emotions. Perhaps, she might have completely seen through his personality, accurately predicting when he would lose control. And in those moments, she would seize the opportunity to ask questions and extract information.

Yang Momo seemed naive, but was in fact extremely cunning and frighteningly intelligent.

Looking back, Li Ming realized that he had been fighting for hours without even noticing. His cards were used up, his energy was less than half, and he had also consumed his only bottle of nutrient potion.

He had cleared most of the monsters in the building for Yang Momo, while she merely smiled at him the whole time, as if watching a clown.

Li Ming considered questioning Yang Momo's motives, but they had already signed the Notarized Contract. The power of an S-rank card would surely bind her actions.

Yang Momo wouldn't harm him.

And besides, he had already fought for Yang Momo for so long, paying too much in sunk costs, so he didn't dare doubt her. If Yang Momo never intended to honor the contract, then what was the point of all his fighting?

A chill ran down Li Ming's spine as he began to question the Avici organization. Why were they, players, working together with an Ultra-Star Rank monster?

Was it all because of the leader of Mending Heaven? They were all human. Could the leader of an opposing organization really be more terrifying than an Ultra-Star Rank monster?

Li Ming realized that he still had some energy left. Though he wasn't at his peak, this energy was enough to unleash a Calamity-level attack at least once, more than enough to protect himself.

He couldn't keep working so hard for Yang Momo anymore.

Li Ming dropped heavily onto the floor and said to Yang Momo, "I'm completely exhausted. I can't take another step. Can you handle the remaining rooms on your own?"

Mo Bai noticed the look in his eyes and let out a soft sigh.

This guy has finally come to his senses.

There were still 7 rooms left to clear. Why wake up now?

Oh, not just 7 rooms. There were also some terrifying monsters that Li Ming himself had created on the 5th and 6th floors.

Mo Bai put on an exceptionally gentle smile and said to Li Ming, "I have a question. If you've been mentally contaminated, and I help remove that contamination, that doesn't count as me breaking the rules, right?"

Li Ming looked at her warily. "Of course not, as long as you're only removing the contamination and not adding any of your own. And besides, we have a contract. You can't harm me."

"How can removing contamination count as harm? That's called 'protection,'" Mo Bai replied.

As she spoke, she silently activated her Environmental Rejection ability, with the targeted element being the power of "Dusk."

Mo Bai didn't know what card Li Ming used, nor which element she needed to reject to break his defense. She could only guess at removing the "contamination of an Ultra-Star Rank monster with the power of dusk and the end of days."

In any case, Environmental Rejection activated silently. Even if she failed, Li Ming wouldn't notice.

Mo Bai suspected that the card Li Ming was using to defend against mental contamination was, like the Requiem of Confession, a corrupted, mutated card.

There were three Ultra-Star Rank monsters remaining in this instance world, and players from Neverland had encountered all three. It was only natural for them to have related cards.

So Mo Bai attempted to remove the "Dusk" contamination, which was also Li Ming's protection, trying to strip away his mental defense.

She succeeded!

She sensed a quiet force within Li Ming, not violent, but filled with loneliness, stillness, depression, oppression, and dimness. It carried a feeling of despair, like the end of the world had arrived, leaving a single person walking alone in eternal dusk, with their shadow casting against a blood-red sunset.

This was the Ultra-Star power known as "Dusk," and it was the first time Mo Bai had directly encountered true Ultra-Star Rank power.

This force was far stronger than Professor Yang and was far stronger than anything within the town.

On her own, Environmental Rejection couldn't possibly reject this kind of force.

But fortunately, the dream domain itself was rejecting the power of "Dusk."

It felt like two kings meeting, and only one could survive. This town refused the contamination of any other Ultra-Star Rank monster.

Mo Bai's ability merely gave the dream domain a push, helping it expel that power.

As a result, she expended very little energy and easily stripped the "Dusk" power from Li Ming.

At the same time, Mo Bai saw a card fall from him. Devoid of all energy, the card turned dull and dispersed into the air.

She only managed to glimpse the card's name, Dusk Walker, and its rank, "A-rank (Mutated)," before she had time to read anything else.

"What are you doing?!" Li Ming shouted in terror. "You're breaking the agreement!"

"No, I'm protecting you." Mo Bai extended her hand toward him. "You were contaminated by 'Dusk.' You had to say the word 'dusk' every five minutes. Your behavior was too strange. I have to protect you."

As Li Ming looked at Mo Bai's hand reaching slowly toward him, he felt the unmistakable killing intent radiating from her. He instinctively activated his ability in self-defense.

Several lightning pillars, like silver dragons, struck toward Mo Bai.

Mo Bai narrowed her eyes slightly. She used Environmental Rejection to shield her entire body, rejecting the lightning element on the outside.

But she deliberately extended her left pinky finger beyond the rejection range, allowing it to be struck by the lightning.

After the thunder and lightning subsided, Mo Bai appeared completely unharmed, but her pinky had already been shattered by the strike.

It hurt badly, but it was bearable.

Mo Bai gently wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and said to Li Ming, "You violated the agreement and caused me harm. I should punish you."

"You did that on purpose! You kept showing your killing intent the whole time. You deliberately added the 'cannot harm you' clause to the Notarized Contract. You were baiting me into attacking you! You attacked first. I was acting in self-defense! That doesn't count as harming you!" Li Ming roared, losing control.

The mental contamination on the 9th floor made him irritable, unable to stay calm. Step by step, Mo Bai had pressed against his psychological weaknesses until he finally snapped.

Mo Bai replied evenly, "Wrong. I was only 'protecting' you, but you truly harmed me. You broke the agreement. I'm fully justified in tearing up the contract to defend myself. Whether I'm Yang Momo or Mo Bai."

She took out a recorder and gently pressed the button. A heart-wrenching wail erupted from it.

For a moment, Li Ming couldn't tell which was more piercing, the sound from the recorder or the name "Mo Bai."

He remembered that name. The Avici seer had warned them about her again and again.

"Mo Bai is a very dangerous person," the Avici seer advised, "If you encounter a weak version of her in an instance, you must kill her and turn her into a card. Absolutely do not let her live!"

She was Mo Bai? She wasn't Yang Momo or a monster from the instance? How could she be a player?

Right now, she looked like a terrifying creature wearing human skin!

Amid the wailing of the Requiem of Confession, Li Ming let out a miserable scream.

At that moment, he heard Mo Bai's voice, as if rising from hell itself: "If you entered Disease Town, you must have gone through related instances. Which one was yours? What have you done in the instance that is worth repenting?"

Li Ming didn't want to answer, but his mind was controlled by the Requiem of Confession. Against his will, he answered, "My last instance was Plague Garden. My teammates and I set up a trap and killed two players. One was named Sheng Lei. He kept shouting that he wanted to avenge Xu Qirui. Xu Qirui was a useless Observation Group member, just my teammate's collectible. He was clearly an Advanced player, but the card he turned into was only B-rank. Total trash. My teammate sold the card off right away."

"You killed two players. Who was the other one?" Mo Bai asked.

Li Ming clutched his head. He didn't want to speak, but it seemed that as long as he confessed his sins, the pain in his mind eased.

So he obediently answered, "The other one… was named Mo Xiangyou. Also an Observation Group player. Unfortunately, I didn't get his card."

"Why didn't you get his card?" Mo Bai's voice was no longer calm. It trembled slightly.

"Because he offered himself to…"

Li Ming's words trailed off. He seemed to be trying to say a name, but no sound came out.

Hearing Li Ming's words, Mo Bai's thoughts plunged into chaos.

For a moment, she couldn't make sense of what Li Ming was saying.

Mo Xiangyou died in Plague Garden?

Then who had she been seeing every day for the past three months? Who had spent points to buy the Phantom Butterfly's information to help her clear instances? Who had sealed Sheng Yan's ability, forcing them to enter Biological Research Institute No. 7?

Suddenly, Mo Bai recalled her conversation with Mo Xiangyou.

He had said he was a liar. The more people he deceived, the stronger his ability to lower others' intelligence became.

She had asked him, Have you ever lied to me?

Mo Xiangyou had replied, Guess for yourself.

At the time, Mo Bai had been certain that Mo Xiangyou had lied to her about something.

But she could never figure out which of his words were a lie.

Until now.

Hearing Li Ming's confession, Mo Bai suddenly realized that Mo Xiangyou's existence itself was a lie...

The fact that he was still alive was a lie.