Gate of Life

Long Ao's palm clamped onto Chen Guan's shoulder, the force so great it almost crushed his bones.

"Are you crazy? Going to the ceremony? That's a death sentence!"

A rare trace of shock appeared in his voice.

Chen Guan didn't struggle. The night breeze rustled the loose hair on his forehead, and his face appeared exceptionally calm under the dim streetlights.

"No, it's the only way to survive."

Chen Guan's tone was flat. He reached out and pried Long Ao's fingers open one by one.

"If we wait, we are just prey. Three days is enough for the Embrace of Flesh and Blood to turn the entire Jiang City upside down. They could crush us just by piling bodies on us. When that time comes, we won't even have the right to choose how we die."

Long Ao's breath hitched. He wanted to retort, but realized every word Chen Guan said was true. Even the authorities had been unable to deal with the Embrace of Flesh and Blood, which showed just how deeply its roots were planted in Jiang City.

"But how is taking the initiative to find them any different from jumping straight into a meat grinder?" Long Ao's brows knitted tightly together.

"There is a huge difference." Chen Guan tossed the black box in his hand. "Taking the initiative means we can choose the time, the location, and even the background music for our entrance."

He said the last sentence very softly. Long Ao didn't catch it, only seeing that he seemed to smile.

[Holy shit! Flipping the table! My Brother Coffin is going to flip the table! I declare this to be the Chen Guan spin-off.]

[The charm of Chen Guan's character is that he's always the inconspicuous one, yet always the one who creates miracles. He seems to care little about anything other than the person in the coffin, forever calm and indifferent, yet he is not lacking in empathy, his indifference mixed with a hint of pity.]

[Well said, such a satisfying personality, it has a kind of divinity.]

The revelry of the bullet comments flashed across Chen Guan's retinas, and the newly acquired popularity points gave him a bit more confidence.

Of course, he wouldn't tell Long Ao his true thoughts: being passively beaten was too degrading; not only was it pathetic, but it also wouldn't yield high scores.

Rather than hiding for three days, being chased like a dog, and finally dying a frustrating death in some unknown corner, it was better to build his own stage and put on a spectacular show.

The cult leader of the Embrace of Flesh and Blood wanted to ascend, wanted to survive.

Coincidentally, so did he.

He wanted his main body to wake up sooner.

Not only to wake up, but to have the capital to survive and the confidence to fear no one.

In essence, this was a battle for resources.

Although the opponent was very powerful, he held the information gap.

The advantage was his.

"You..." Long Ao looked at Chen Guan, the emotions in his eyes complex.

As a person, Chen Guan didn't talk much, and his own strength fluctuated, but he was extremely assertive, lacking neither brains nor the ability to act.

His actions were not reckless, and his assertions were not the madness of despair, but a calmness calculated to the extreme. He couldn't see Chen Guan's overall plan, yet he subconsciously wanted to trust him.

In the Black Wind Ruins, facing the White Tiger, it was like this.

At Beishi Academy, facing Baal, it was the same.

"I'll go with you." Long Ao took a deep breath, his voice low but powerful. He was willing to trust him once again.

Chen Guan glanced at him, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. He just turned and walked in the opposite direction of the Long family courtyard.

"Let's find a place to stay first."

Long Ao immediately followed, and the two of them, one after the other, soon disappeared into the shadows of the alley.

...

In the southern district of Jiang City, a motel whose very name had faded.

The room was filled with a mixed smell of disinfectant and dampness. The curtains were drawn tight, leaving only the faint flicker of an old television.

Chen Guan sat cross-legged on the bed. That black coffin stood behind him, completely out of place in this cramped room.

He closed his eyes, his spiritual power sinking into the system panel.

He distributed the newly acquired popularity points without hesitation.

[Agility: 15]

[Spirit: 35]

Running a bit faster was never a mistake, and with stronger control over illusions, he could deceive more people.

He didn't add points to strength and stamina; that was Long Ao's domain, and he didn't need to.

Long Ao, on the other hand, paced anxiously around the room, the floorboards creaking under his feet.

"What do we do now? Just wait here?"

"No." Chen Guan opened his eyes, the light from the TV screen dancing in his pupils. "We are waiting for dawn."

"And after dawn?"

"Go to the casino."

Long Ao stopped pacing. "Go directly?"

"No, to scout." Chen Guan got out of bed, walked to the window, lifted a corner of the curtain, and looked out at the brightly lit night view of the city. "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. Lin Jiu gave us the location, but not a map. We have to go anyway, at least to figure out the escape routes."

His logic was frighteningly clear, not at all like a man about to head into a death trap.

Long Ao looked at his profile, feeling a bit more confident. Chen Guan was indeed not gambling with his life; he was slowly pulling the odds of the gamble back to his side.

[Brother Guan has thought of everything. He doesn't want to die; he truly wants to live.]

[Making the most rational plans in the most desperate situations, this kind of contrast really gets me.]

[Is it possible that the escape route he mentioned is prepared for Long Ao, and then Long Ao will just create a world with Chen Guan in it?]

[Who would kill Chen Guan? No matter who dies, it's impossible for Chen Guan to die. Compared to Chen Guan, I actually feel like Grandpa Long Ao is on a death countdown.]

[The old geezer set a trap to harm Brother Guan, he deserves it.]

[You can't really say that... feels like the trolley problem.]

Chen Guan silently watched the bullet comments float by. Good, the audience's emotions were right on point; discussion generated popularity.

If things continued like this, maybe by the time he went back this time, he'd be able to beat up An Changqing.

Just then, the black box he had casually placed on the nightstand suddenly let out a hum.

The sound wasn't loud, but in the quiet room, it was clearly audible.

Long Ao instantly became alert, his gaze darting to the box.

On the surface of the box, the intricate patterns seemed to come alive, flashing with a faint red light.

An evil aura permeated from the box.

Chen Guan could feel it, as if a pair of eyes were staring at him.

He was locked on.

Chen Guan didn't look at the box. His gaze passed through the gap in the curtains and fell on the street below the motel.

In the shadows of the street corner, several figures who had been standing idly by raised their heads in unison, looking toward the direction of their room.

Their movements were uniform, their eyes greedy, like sharks smelling blood.

"The first batch of the audience is here."

Chen Guan let go of the curtain, turned around, and said to Long Ao.

There was no panic on his face; instead, he carried a calmness of someone preparing to take the stage.

"You stay here, don't go out."

"What?" Long Ao was stunned. "They're at our door, let's charge out together!"

"No." Chen Guan walked to the door and gripped his scythe.

"The stage is set, now we need an opening act."

He looked back at Long Ao. "If I don't come back, take my coffin and leave."

With those words, he pulled the door open and darted out without the slightest hesitation.

The door slammed shut right in Long Ao's face.

Long Ao's mind went completely blank. He stood frozen in place, with only Chen Guan's final words echoing in his ears.

Take... the coffin?

Long Ao's eyes instantly grew red.

He understood now.

In truth, Chen Guan didn't have the absolute certainty he had projected. Chen Guan was fully prepared to die and was simply arranging his final affairs. He wanted to leave the only chance of survival to Long Ao.

That trick of his, the one that was practically coming back from the dead...

"Chen Guan!"