Chapter 620 - 399: Living Yama

Chapter 620: Chapter 399: Living Yama

Despite the unexpected reunion, Erin couldn’t bring herself to be happy.

She never imagined her crime value would be as high as "2314"—even higher than Zhou Chen’s. It was a bit hard for her to accept.

A high crime value wasn’t exactly a badge of honor.

Zhou Chen stroked his chin, analyzing the situation. "It seems the crime value is also related to the cruelty of the methods used. I killed a ton of Corrupters, but my techniques were all pretty simple. Not as cruel as yours, so my crime value isn’t as high."

"Don’t..." Erin couldn’t help but cover her face in her hands.

"It’s okay." Zhou Chen ruffled her hair, then gently pulled her into a hug, comforting her. "Relax. Don’t take it to heart. Just think of it as a game. If you really can’t accept it, I can try to use hypnosis on you."

Feeling the warmth of Zhou Chen’s solid chest, Erin gradually began to relax. She shook her head softly. "No, it’s fine. I’m not that weak. I’m just... just not used to it yet."

"I understand," Zhou Chen replied.

Accidentally becoming an even bigger villain than him would certainly take some getting used to.

Zhou Chen changed the subject. He paused for a moment before saying in a low voice, "I have a feeling that the one who attacked you was probably Ghost. And it’s highly likely that Ghost is the one who took Sasha."

"But isn’t he dead?" Erin asked, surprised.

"I’m not sure. It’s just a gut feeling," Zhou Chen sighed. "Sasha’s origins are strange. There’s no information about her in any database; it’s like she appeared out of thin air. She was the only living person in Soul Rest Cemetery. If she was a ritual sacrifice, where are the others? Since she was kept alone in the cemetery, there must be something special about her.

"Ghost may have been hit by Orlando’s Sun Fist and had his soul annihilated, but he made a deal with an Evil God. He might have some means of resurrection..."

As the owner of the Book of the Dead, Zhou Chen knew full well how many unbelievably strange Curse Techniques existed in the Abyss, especially when it came to life-saving methods for cheating death. There was a dazzling variety of them.

The Star Association, the commander of the Life Church Knight Order, and Orlando all confirmed Ghost’s death. But at the same time, they all knew there was a possibility he wasn’t truly gone. A High-level Ascender like him, whose specific intelligence was a mystery, would be incredibly difficult to kill for good.

"Then Sasha must be in danger." Erin grew anxious. Although they hadn’t known each other long, she had already formed a friendship with Sasha, one of the few friends she had.

Zhou Chen nodded. "We need to get our crime value up to ten thousand as quickly as possible and head to the inner city. Sasha should be there."

"Then let’s get moving!" Erin’s gaze became resolute.

To save Sasha, they had to go to the inner city. To go to the inner city, they needed ten thousand crime points. To get ten thousand crime points quickly, they needed to commit crimes like crazy!

’No time to be sentimental!’

·

·

「Fifteen minutes later.」

"Yes, yes, just like that! Perfect! Fucking brilliant! It’s a work of art!"

Zhou Chen clapped enthusiastically, generously applauding Erin’s creation.

Amidst the heart-wrenching screams of the Corrupters, Erin laughed sheepishly as the crime value above her head skyrocketed.

Before them stood rows of giant Crosses. Below, Fiery Fire raged, making the scene look as lively as a grand bonfire party.

The Corrupters cosplaying as a suffering Jesus struggled madly on the Crosses, trying to escape. But the nails were driven in deep. The more violently they struggled, the more intense the piercing pain became. Torrents of blood flowed down, dyeing the Crosses red before being evaporated by the flames.

Off to the side was a giant rotisserie, where Corrupters were tied to thick iron rods, turning slowly and letting out shrill wails as they roasted in the fire.

Seeing the crime value above Erin’s head soaring, Zhou Chen couldn’t sit still any longer. He quickly found a den of thugs to farm some crime value of his own.

This hideout had a swimming pool where the thugs went to relax. Upon seeing it, Zhou Chen had a flash of inspiration. He used Alchemy to whip up a windmill-like contraption with twelve propellers, tying two thugs to each blade.

Then, he pushed the device to the edge of the pool and activated it.

WHIRRR... The motor started, and the propellers spun at high speed. The thugs tied to them were frantically dunked in and out of the water, sending huge splashes everywhere.

The crime value above Zhou Chen’s head shot up. He nodded in satisfaction, then turned to the remaining thugs bound in chains nearby. They trembled in fear, their faces twisted in terror as they began to curse him out.

Just then, Erin used her Secret Silver Bracelet to Instant Teleport to Zhou Chen’s side. Seeing the device, she immediately thought of a famous invention:

"Is that... the Life-Releasing Machine of Infinite Merit?"

"I call it the ’Torture Machine of Infinite Sin.’ A bit more fitting, don’t you think?"

"Gotta say, it is."

"You have any other good ideas?" Zhou Chen asked.

"Hmm... a manned rocket?" Erin said after a moment’s thought.

"Great idea. Let’s try it with the rest of them."

A few minutes later, they had finished their setup.

Using Alchemy, Zhou Chen fashioned a large rocket and tied all the remaining thugs and Corrupters to it.

"Let me go! Let me go!!!" one of the thugs screamed, struggling frantically.

"You damned couple will die a horrible death! A horrible death!" a badly beaten thug cursed viciously.

"Please, let me go! I don’t want to die! Waaaah, I don’t want to die..." Others, having witnessed the couple’s cruel methods, had a mental breakdown and began to sob uncontrollably.

Zhou Chen turned a deaf ear to their pleas and handed a large red button to Erin. "Press it."

Erin pressed the button without hesitation.

BOOM!

The roar of ignition echoed as a turbulent blast wave spread in all directions. The ground trembled, and the steel rocket, spitting a tail of flame, ascended into the eternally dim, yellow sky.

And then, a brilliant explosion bloomed in the sky.

It formed a dazzling, shimmering heart that filled half the sky.

"Do you like it?" Zhou Chen asked with a smile.

Erin stared, transfixed, the light of the firework reflected in her clear, sapphire-blue eyes.

"I love it," she said, nodding emphatically.

And at that moment, bathed in the colorful light of the firework, the crime values above both their heads were soaring.

Zhou Chen’s crime value reached: 6988.

Erin’s crime value was: 6414.

"You two seem to be having fun."

Just then, a bolt of Cyan Thunder struck down, and Li Xiye arrived.

"Ahem... Xiye, how’s your crime value farming going?" Zhou Chen quickly asked.

Li Xiye tapped the space above her head, and a black number appeared: 8563.

Her current crime value was high enough to enter a more advanced district, but to enter the highest-level inner city, she still needed about fifteen hundred more points.

That wasn’t a problem for her; she could easily farm that much on the way.

"What are you doing here?" Li Xiye then asked, looking at Erin with some surprise.

Erin explained the whole story.

"I see..." Li Xiye thought for a moment, then said gravely, "If Ghost isn’t dead, his primary target will definitely be Dupe’s ritual. We’ll have to be on high alert and make sure Ghost doesn’t get a chance to take advantage of the situation."

Time was short, so the three of them didn’t linger and quickly headed for the entrance to the next city district.