Chapter 45: Exploding Blood Fireworks

Chapter 45 The Exploding Bloody Firework

From the perspective of Chu Fu and the others, the Office Worker suddenly stiffened, her limbs rigid as she stared blankly at the large screen, as if her soul had been drawn into the eerie advertisement.

No matter how others called out to her, she showed no reaction… or rather, she simply couldn’t move.

At that moment, the cheerful and lively nursery rhyme abruptly stopped, plunging the entire media room into an unsettling silence.

On the large screen, the warm and harmonious cartoon visuals froze for a few seconds before suddenly turning into snowy static.

Amidst the piercing "zzzt" noise, the ink-black figure abruptly pressed itself against the screen, so close that it nearly occupied half of it, creating an illusion—

As if it would soon crawl out of the screen, casting a massive shadow over the players.

A white crescent-shaped line split open on the black figure’s face, revealing a gaping grin directed at the audience before the screen went completely dark.

Once the light from the screen vanished, the media room was left in total darkness.

In those brief seconds of complete darkness, Chu Fu could only hear the slightly rapid breathing of the bespectacled man beside him, followed by…

"Boom."

A muffled pop, like a firework exploding indoors, accompanied by the quiet splatter of liquid across the floor.

When the lights flickered back on, the white walls of the media room, the black screen, and the already crimson carpet were all spattered with blood.

—It turned out the "firework" that had just exploded was the Office Worker’s flesh and blood.

"Ah…" The Office Worker’s voice echoed from all directions. Her blood and flesh throbbed and quivered like a heartbeat, carrying her startled exhalation. "My body exploded."

"Luckily, this isn’t much trouble for me."

As soon as she finished speaking, the blood and flesh seemed to be pulled by some invisible force, intertwining and merging into a human-sized meat sphere.

Countless veins and tendons covered its surface, continuously supplying all the nutrients needed for life.

Soon, a handprint appeared at the top of the ball. After a couple of pats, the hand pushed through the membrane and emerged!

The meatball split open like a ripe watermelon or a pregnant belly sliced open during childbirth, revealing a widening gap as the Office Worker stood up from within. If not for the blood-soaked remnants on her clothes, she appeared almost completely unharmed.

—Through the power and miracle of "Life," she had been reborn anew into the world with an intact body and optimal state.

The Office Worker prayed devoutly, "Thank you, merciful Goddess of Creation, for granting us life and flesh."

After her rebirth, she reused her previous method, using the man-eating flower split from her palm to devour the meatball, recycling the remains.

"The attack method of this advertisement really does feel tailor-made for me… It’s barely a challenge," the Office Worker muttered before turning to Chu Fu. "Thanks, Prophet."

Chu Fu shook his head. "What you should really thank is your own Ability—that kind of attack would’ve given anyone else here a hard time."

The System Panel refreshed again, showing "2/5."

Yawning, the Office Worker took a few steps toward the other players, the wind around her carrying a strong stench of blood mixed with amniotic fluid. "About the advertisement, do you have any questions for me?"

Chu Fu raised his azure eyes and looked at her seriously. "We all noticed that at the end of the advertisement, your reaction was strange."

"You seemed frozen, completely unresponsive to external stimuli. So we’re curious about—what did it feel like for you at that moment?"

After a moment of recollection, the Office Worker answered, "From my perspective, when that stick-figure creature said, 'I’m behind you,' it wrapped itself around my neck…"

"At first, I thought it had truly crossed the barrier between the screen and reality, entering the media room. But soon, I realized everything around me had gone silent, as if all of you had vanished."

"What happened next, you can probably guess. It tore me apart just like in the advertisement—but really, such methods are too naive against me. To avoid shocking you with severed limbs, I just detonated myself. It made my 'rebirth' easier anyway."

"Wait, you think exploding into a bloody firework isn’t shocking?"

Meng Siyou couldn’t help but interject.

He had been sitting close to the Office Worker and had even felt blood droplets spraying onto his face, leaving his mind momentarily blank…

The Office Worker coughed and pretended not to hear Meng Siyou’s remark, continuing, "Looking back now, it wasn’t that all of you disappeared—it was that my consciousness was pulled into an isolated realm."

"There, the harm we suffer and the things we see become real, manifesting in reality… That’s why, from your perspective, it seemed like I froze for a moment before suddenly exploding."

"Consciousness, huh?" Chu Fu murmured softly.

He was curious—if his consciousness were pulled into the advertisement, would his form appear as "Chu Fu," the High Priest, or even Yi Fengchu’s true self?

Chu Fu was increasingly convinced that stumbling upon this dungeon had been incredibly fortunate, allowing him to test this vessel from the material world to the spiritual realm.

Seeing that the questions were over, the Office Worker sat down in a corner away from the others, quietly cleansing herself of the lingering stench before casually encouraging them, "Well, my part’s done for now. Keep it up, everyone."

…

Next up for the advertisement test was Meng Siyou.

When selecting an advertisement, he made sure to solemnly ask for Chu Fu’s advice.

"Me?" Chu Fu looked slightly surprised. "Do you really trust me in your heart?"

Uh.

Hearing such blunt words, Meng Siyou’s eyelids twitched, momentarily speechless.

He was certain Chu Fu had long noticed—the cautious and observant demeanor he unintentionally displayed as a government agent.

After years of working cases in the real world, certain habits had become as natural to him as the wind, something he often didn’t even realize himself…

Fortunately, it wasn’t too late to recognize this now. He just hoped he hadn’t offended this mysterious Ability user earlier.

With this realization, Meng Siyou lowered his gaze, his expression growing more humble. He hinted, "I have a colleague who was saved by you in a recent real-world dungeon… I trust your capabilities, and I believe you mean no harm."

Due to the presence of other players, Meng Siyou didn’t elaborate further—such as his knowledge of Chu Fu’s unordinary identity or the deity behind him…

Because in the Gods’ Playground, casually revealing private information about powerful figures was also a form of offense—perhaps even more insidious and severe than outright defiance.

His words were impeccably phrased, drawing an arched brow from the Office Worker in the distance, who grew even more convinced that Chu Fu must be a High-level ability user of significant background.

But a High-level ability user from the Fate Domain…?

She pondered. Those from the Fate Domain were already rare, and those who fit this description were even fewer. The most famous among them, the Doomsday Prophet, had disappeared completely over two hundred years ago.

Under the Office Worker’s subtle observation, Chu Fu showed no reaction to Meng Siyou’s words, remaining as nonchalant as ever. He idly tapped the display screen in front of Meng Siyou. "If you trust my judgment, then pick this one."

Meng Siyou looked down to see a honey advertisement.

At the center of the cover was a jar of honey in transparent packaging. The golden, thick liquid gleamed, slightly dripping from the rim of the jar like liquid sunlight, reflecting an appetizing gleam.

At the top left corner of the honey jar, there were two bees leisurely circling, their round bellies striped with yellow and black, appearing endearingly clumsy.

Meng Siyou’s gaze lingered on the two bees. He believed the biggest risk this advertisement might bring was likely related to the bees.

And what was the most notable trait of bees?

—It was the "buzzing" sound produced when their wings vibrated at high frequencies.

"If that’s the case, they would indeed be vulnerable to my Ability..."

Meng Siyou murmured, then turned to Chu Fu. "Could it be... that you can see what my Ability is?"

The advertisement Chu Fu had casually pointed to seemed coincidentally compatible with his Ability—it was way too coincidental, almost forcing Meng Siyou into a dreadful suspicion: Had the other party long since known all about his situation?

"..." Chu Fu paused briefly.

Truthfully, he hadn’t thought too deeply about it. Choosing this advertisement was more a result of being guided by something like foresight.

Of course, he did know about Meng Siyou’s Ability beforehand—but that was only because his phone had informed him. He himself had no ability to discern another’s Ability, let alone their other secrets.

Still, he couldn’t deny that watching his old classmate grow suspicious and overthink in front of him brought him a strange satisfaction...

Well, it satisfied an indescribable mean streak in him.

So Chu Fu merely gave an enigmatic smile and continued with his ambiguous response: "I can’t directly see your Ability, but I can perceive the strands of your destiny and catch the aura of ‘silence’ upon you."

Hearing this, Meng Siyou’s expression darkened, and for a moment, he said nothing.

"The aura of silence"...

Meng Siyou wondered—when those words came from Chu Fu’s mouth, could they be just literal?

Considering Chu Fu’s close connection to the True God Narrator, could it be that the "silence" he referred to wasn’t merely the domain of silence, but a reference to the god of that domain—the Silent Singer?

At this thought, he broke out in a cold sweat, even as everything suddenly made sense.

He quickly recalled the legends surrounding the Silent Singer. It was said that this new deity behaved unusually, almost never bestowing attention or favor upon believers, nor showing interest in the ranked individuals within their domain. No Apostles were recruited, nor was a church established, as though they didn’t exist at all.

Yet, Meng Siyou had once heard a strange and eerie piece of advice from the Tenth Ranker, whom he’d met by chance.

That Ranker had said meaningfully, "Beware ‘silence.’ Mind your words and actions... They silently watch over all of us."

—So, was Chu Fu actually hinting that he carried the Silent Singer’s presence?

If that were true, then... what could be the intentions of a True God who had been secretly watching him and the others all along?

Instantly breaking into a cold sweat, Meng Siyou stood rooted to the spot, lost in thought for a long while.

Just as Chu Fu was dying to know what crazy ideas he was cooking up now, Meng Siyou nodded solemnly. "I understand... I’ll choose this advertisement."

Chu Fu barely blinked, then steadied his expression, resisting the urge to ask:

What exactly did you suddenly understand?