Corruption was one of the many endings for the game’s protagonist, Chao Yan.
Wei Yang recalled that when the game was being promoted, the main selling point was that the protagonist had different values for each character. For instance, trust, favorability, and lust.
Corruption was an ending triggered when Chao Yan’s favorability for a character reached its maximum while her trust reached its minimum.
In this state, Chao Yan was at her strongest—acting on every whim and doing exactly as she pleased. It was impossible to reform her through words alone; she wouldn’t believe anything, nor would she listen. She only maintained the bare minimum level of communication.
This was a total disaster, and Wei Yang couldn’t escape. Even if she could run, she couldn’t leave Ah Li behind.
Chao Yan’s long hair and eyes had completely turned cherry-colored, and the clothes on her body had transformed into a robe of a hundred birds.
“I’ll kill you~”
With a heart full of love and innocence, she stood up. In this black-and-white world, she approached Wei Yang step by step, colorful ripples surging beneath her feet as she moved.
Wei Yang retreated step by step until her back hit that 1,000-year-old ancient tree. She had nowhere left to run.
The effect of the Tamamo Bell was still active. It was unrealistic to ask Yu Tu to reload the save right now; she could only rely on herself to escape this predicament.
“Hey, uh, Chao Yan… I don’t know if you’ve heard this before, but violence doesn’t solve problems.”
“It can solve problems. I’ll kill you and turn you into a specimen soaked in formalin. That way, you’ll be mine forever. You’ll never look at anyone else, and you’ll never run away again.”
Wei Yang’s head throbbed.
“Wait, wait, wait! I was the Divine Lady, after all! If you kill me, that’s the crime of regicide!”
“Regicide?” Chao Yan tilted her head and paused for a moment. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll announce to the world that you passed away from an illness. The ruler fell ill with lovesickness, her love for me went unrequited, and so she died of a broken heart. Isn’t that a wonderful reason?”
“That’s way too fake! People will get suspicious!”
“How could they? Everyone will understand. Since ancient times, beauties have always been fragile and ill-fated. Let’s end our conversation here.”
Chao Yan tilted her head back slightly, her shoulders trembling gently. Her almond eyes gazed at Wei Yang as her delicate hand moved to her neck. As her eyelashes lowered and her wrist turned, she slowly pulled out a Snow Blade blooming with plum blossoms in a posture as if she were slitting her own throat.
In that instant, a twelve-fold dramatic folding screen manifested between the two of them. Chao Yan stepped into the screens, fluttering like a butterfly through each panel, leaving behind a silhouette of her elegant posture on every fold.
*Ding… Ding… Ding… Ding—!*
Every time her figure reached the next frame, a sharp chime rang out. To Wei Yang, this piercing sound was the approach of a killing intent that was impossible to evade.
With twelve chimes, twelve static frames played in sequence to compose a suicide play. Chao Yan emerged gracefully from the final fold of the screen. A cutting line appeared on Wei Yang’s neck, and the Snow Blade sliced along the dotted line.
*BOOM—!*
The 1,000-year-old ancient tree of the Starry Palace was snapped clean by the residual power of the strike. It fell heavily, leaves fluttering through the air like rain. Chao Yan looked at her handiwork with satisfaction.
“Though it was spectacular, the tactile sensation wasn’t right. Wei Yang, you’re still alive, aren’t you? Where are you?”
At the same time, Wei Yang was gasping for breath among the countless branches of the fallen tree, her heart still pounding with lingering fear. On the ground beneath her lay several silver shards and a charred hilt.
‘Whew… Fortunately, I stole a dagger from the room where I was first imprisoned. If that had hit me directly, I definitely would have been cut in two…’
In that life-or-death moment when the blade was a hair’s breadth away, she remembered the dagger she had tucked into her waist. She had hurriedly drawn it to block the blow. It was also lucky that the ancient tree behind her had absorbed most of the force; otherwise, Wei Yang would have certainly died.
However, the God of Death did not let her go.
“Wei Yang… Wei Yang… Don’t hide from me…”
Chao Yan’s voice drifted in and out, carrying a sob. She wandered around the ancient tree like a sleepwalker, searching for her.
This couldn’t go on. She would eventually be killed.
‘I can’t let her lead me by the nose like this, but… I don’t even know how to use my Curse Technique!’
While carefully moving through the thick branches to stay away from the direction of Chao Yan’s voice, Wei Yang thought desperately.
All she had left were some dagger shards. What could she do with those?
If she wanted to survive, she could only think of two ways. One was to defeat Chao Yan, and the other was to have Yu Tu reload the save.
But Yu Tu was currently frozen by the bell and couldn’t help, and Ah Li was unconscious. To undo the effect of the Tamamo Bell, she had to wait for Ah Li to wake up.
In that case, she could only take a gamble—
“Stupid Chao Yan!” Wei Yang shouted at the top of her lungs, uncaring that she was exposing her position. “I’m definitely going to use my Curse Technique to subdue you! I won’t be soft-hearted and unable to strike you anymore!”
This was the only way; she had to trick out information regarding her own Curse Technique.
However, in the next instant, a cutting line appeared on Wei Yang’s knee, and the Snow Blade sliced along the dotted line.
*Slice—!*
Wei Yang fell to the ground. A brilliant crimson flowed from the cross-section of her thigh, spreading across the floor. Her throat couldn’t make a sound; her body hadn’t even processed the separation of those two parts yet.
Chao Yan, who had instantly located and found her, stood there and smiled lonely in front of the Snow Blade.
“Did you think I would give you time to obscure your vision? You can’t lie to me, Wei Yang. You aren’t soft-hearted toward me at all; you’re just limited by the activation requirements of your Curse Technique. You understand what happens next, don’t you?”
As her magic power surged, Chao Yan’s Adaptation Curse activated, beginning to analyze Wei Yang’s data.
As long as something existed in this world, Chao Yan could analyze and adapt to it. This applied not only to Divine Artifacts and Curse Techniques but even to the very existence of a person.
To understand everything about Wei Yang, to truly be together, Chao Yan knelt down. She pulled her beloved up and held her in a tight embrace.
No longer suppressing her desires, the flower of love bloomed quietly.
Wei Yang felt as if she had become a dandelion, incredibly light, no longer able to feel the weight of a physical body. Her consciousness began to blur. Chao Yan’s face overlapped and distorted in her vision, her hair wrapping around Wei Yang’s arms like tentacles while murmurs echoed in her ears.
**[I love you, I love you, I love you]**
**[Look at me, look at me, look at me]**
**[Fall into wretchedness with me]**
**[Once we merge into one, we will never be lonely again]**
Checkmate.
Chao Yan thought that she had won. Even if she had to use force, she had obtained what she wanted. Wei Yang could no longer resist or run away from her side.
“My Snow White doesn’t need glass slippers. You don’t need them now, and you won’t need them in the future.”
Chao Yan nuzzled Wei Yang’s cheek, a look of pure satisfaction on her face.
Except, it wasn’t over.
She hadn’t expected that even in such a desperate situation, Wei Yang wouldn’t fall into despair. In fact, it was quite the opposite.
“Ah… that’s great…” Wei Yang raised her hand excitedly, unable to hide her thrilled expression. “I just need to make it so my eyes can’t see, right?”
Chao Yan had already said the information Wei Yang needed. The activation requirement for her Curse Technique was related to her eyes; she needed to obscure her field of vision.
Since the condition was known—
“I’ll show you!”
Wei Yang used the dagger shard hidden in her palm to stab her own eyes without a moment’s hesitation.
It didn’t matter. If she didn’t do this, she would lose to that most hated Blonde. Furthermore, once she was completely analyzed by Chao Yan’s Curse Technique, what awaited her might be true death. At least this way, she still had one line of life.
Two lines of crimson tears dripped onto the ground, merging into the darkening red blood near her severed legs.
############!
It hurt like hell!
No matter how much determination one had, pain was still pain.
She wanted to pass out.
She didn’t want to be hurt anymore.
But she had to do it. Otherwise, she was just a fish on a chopping block, left to be slaughtered.
*Ribbit!*
The sound of a frog suddenly drifted from the distance. After a red shadow flashed by, the Wei Yang in Chao Yan’s arms was gone.
Chao Yan looked in disbelief at the Seven-Colored Deer that had appeared in the distance along with the frog. They were both part of Wei Yang’s Curse Technique.
“To think you could go that far… do you really not want to be by my side that much?” Chao Yan stood up again, green sparks igniting at the tips of her long hair. “Why won’t you fall with me? Why are you letting me be alone and miserable? Why, Wei Yang!”
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