"Blood vessels... of a god?"
Xie Antong frowned as she repeated the words, still struggling to comprehend the scale of this battle.
So it was confirmed now - gods existed, and they were fighting against them?
Was that why communication had been so sporadic below ground? Because they were facing something far too powerful?
Looking at the weakened and battered state of "Sin" before her - more vulnerable than she'd ever seen him - Xie Antong slowly knelt down to examine him closely.
"You... take such reckless risks..."
"What choice did I have? You didn't exactly offer to switch places with me via earpiece earlier," Lu Ce chuckled weakly.
Xie Antong: ...
After a brief pause, she gave a bitter laugh. "Well, the suicidal missions are your specialty. Out of potions?"
"Your mask... what happened? Can you still drink through it?"
The once pink mask now bore twisted spiral patterns as if wrenched by tremendous force, its base color barely visible beneath fluorescent green streaks.
"The mask's fine, but forget the potion."
Lu Ce could barely manage a slight head shake - even that small movement was difficult now.
His condition was improving, but at a glacial pace. It was like trying to refill a lake through a single faucet.
"Those medicines... probably won't help right now..."
His earlier transformation - that momentary brush with divinity - had granted Lu Ce profound insights. He suddenly understood something fundamental about CHOSEN'S PARADISE: this game was intrinsically connected to the gods.
All abilities, items, weapons, and Sequence Objects obtained here were ultimately god-related in nature. The powers players gained likely originated from those unseen deities. Sequence Objects contained divine power with heavy contamination - stronger than weapons but with worse side effects. Weapons were purified versions, retaining only fragments of divine power without the corruption.
By that logic, all healing items must be connected to the god of Life.
Having suffered life-energy backlash earlier, Lu Ce knew potions would just make him vomit - completely ineffective.
"Why?" Xie Antong felt this exceeded her understanding.
"Hard to explain... Let's just say anything life-related probably won't help me now."
Xie Antong's eyes flickered. She knelt fully, reaching for Lu Ce's emaciated right hand.
Lu Ce: ?
He instinctively pulled back, but Xie Antong moved with surgical precision, seizing his wrist.
"Stay still. I need to check your condition."
Her voice remained clinical, though his reflexive withdrawal sent an unnoticed pang through her. After a long examination, she frowned.
"Your current state... are you even alive anymore?"
"Since when did you study Chinese medicine?" Lu Ce deflected.
"Why should you know everything about me?" Xie Antong countered deliberately.
Lu Ce: ...
In the silence that followed, Lu Ce noticed her intense scrutiny of his mask - like the All-Seeing Eye analyzing data.
"You're not thinking of removing my mask now, are you? I'll kill you~" His playful threat barely concealed how he subtly withdrew his hand.
"Never mind." Xie Antong pondered briefly before asking, "You said life-related things won't help, correct?"
She'd deduced that [Life] must be the deity connected to this game event.
"Then this should be unrelated to life."
With a flick of her wrist, she produced a half-foot-long golden needle!
"If life energy can't help you... perhaps Death can? Trust me enough to try?"
"What is that?" The gleaming needle made Lu Ce's eyes sting.
"Sequence Object A-001: Death's Gate." Even Xie Antong regarded the item warily.
"Last time I saw a 001 was the Ancient God's Reflection. Not sure if it's the same item that disappeared after use... but the game identifies it as such."
"As long as your body and soul haven't been completely annihilated, this should preserve you until we achieve perfect clearance healing."
An A-rank Sequence Object? The top of its class?
Lu Ce was genuinely shocked. And why would something called "Death's Gate" be a needle?
"So you want me to take this out of the game? The top A-rank item - not worried I'll keep it?"
"If you trust me enough to use it, I can trust you with it," Xie Antong said indifferently.
"How does it work?"
"Simple - insert it into your heart."
Lu Ce: ...
Stab an A-rank artifact into his own heart?
Seeing his hesitation, Xie Antong moved to put it away.
"No trust? Fine. You probably won't die immediately anyway."
"You think I'd back down from your challenge?!" Lu Ce's voice suddenly shifted octaves.
Even Xie Antong flinched at the intensity radiating from behind that mask.
"Please. Proceed."
A spray of blood followed as Xie Antong drove the needle home without ceremony.
"Cough!"
Lu Ce's body convulsed violently, folding nearly in half as he vomited green blood. Yet moments later, he slowly rose to his feet.
"Tch... interesting."
"Though that stab felt a bit... cathartic for you?"
The needle had disappeared completely, leaving only a tiny golden puncture. Lu Ce felt weightless - still weak, but standing required no effort now.
Behind them, Black Knight quietly retracted a cannon barrel that had been trained on Xie Antong's back.
Lu Ce surveyed the area. Wherever his gaze fell, other players averted their eyes.
"Seems the game isn't over yet."
"No problem. Just some cleanup work remaining."