Chapter 662: Chapter 575: Four-leaf Phoenix Tree

"Four-leaf Phoenix Tree!" Zhou Zhao shouted.

"The data tide is surging in."

The monsters surrounding them quickly enclosed the duo, leaving only a small circle in the middle. As they were about to be swallowed, March’s voice suddenly rang out.

"In three seconds, I will open a path in front of you. All the data bodies on that path will be obliterated. Leave as soon as you can."

"Damn it," Zhou Zhao cursed under his breath.

He looked back unwillingly in the direction where the Four-leaf Phoenix Tree had fallen, as time ticked away. When the three seconds were up, the data bodies dispersed with a ’swoosh’, and a path appeared out of thin air. The data bodies along the path immediately deconstructed into red data streams.

Su Sui didn’t try to persuade Zhou Zhao and swiftly ran toward the periphery.

Seeing this, Zhou Zhao gritted his teeth in frustration but had no choice but to follow the girl and break out. Once the command’s time limit was up, these restless data bodies would pounce on them and tear them to pieces.

The breach quickly filled in.

...

Scattered by the data flow, Four-leaf Phoenix Tree fell into a void of darkness. He tried to activate his Divine Speed Power, but his leg was tightly grasped by a pair of large hands, and he couldn’t find a point of leverage in the air, like a petal wavering in the wind.

A petal...

He fell to the base of the clock tower, and the violent impact rendered him unconscious instantly.

Points of light floated in his wavering vision, and buzzing sounds rang in his ears. The dizziness made Four-leaf Phoenix Tree’s mind hazy, accompanied by rustling sounds approaching. He could faintly sense those monsters closing in on him.

"Damn..."

He tried to struggle to his feet, but his limp body refused to obey. Having performed many surgical operations, his intuition told him that his right leg’s shinbone was broken.

The rustling sounds grew louder and brighter in his ears, the data bodies coming closer and faster, seemingly eager to assimilate him. He could even see the momentarily flickering red current.

He struggled desperately to crawl forward, trying to distance himself from the danger in the darkness. But the darkness from all around slowly engulfed him, isolating him from the world, leaving only the small semi-circle beneath him.

Dammit... those data bodies were scratching at his boots.

As the boundless darkness was about to swallow him, the vivid red current completely occupied his vision, and Four-leaf Phoenix Tree suddenly noticed a petal drifting past the edge of his sight.

The soft petal moved without wind, flying in the air, its white gradually turning red as it quietly passed beneath his eyes, landing in front of him.

"This is..." Four-leaf Phoenix Tree murmured softly.

He looked up and saw a pair of girl’s legs. The slender legs emerged from a white dress, stepping on strapped sandals, dazzling white in the darkness. The legs gently lifted and fell, the girl tip-toeing into the darkness.

The girl’s gentle humming drifted in, the pure and long tune like a childhood lullaby beside his pillow. Four-leaf Phoenix Tree clearly sensed the rustling sounds in the darkness ebbing away, the data bodies retreating from him.

Four-leaf Phoenix Tree staggered to his feet and quickly walked forward, trying to catch up to the girl’s steps.

He watched as the girl entered a door, her silhouette disappearing around a corner. Following her, he pushed open the door, only to find himself somehow in a small two-story Western-style house.

Pale moonlight slanted in through the double windows, illuminating the hallway, casting a faint surprise mixed with puzzlement on the young man’s face, with dried blood at the corner of his mouth. The curtains blew in the wind, and white crabapple flowers blew in, falling to the ground and gradually staining red.

He saw the girl standing at the end of the hallway turn around, her black hair cascading over her shoulders, the pure white dress hiding her legs, her expression hidden in the shadows, difficult to discern.

"Do you remember where this is?" she asked.

Four-leaf Phoenix Tree remained silent in response.

The girl’s laughter tinkled like wind chimes. He watched her push the door open and walk in. Four-leaf Phoenix Tree instinctively followed her silhouette, and as he stepped inside, the world reversed. When he came to his senses, he had already stepped into a prison, wearing the uniform of an Executioner.

Prisoners with indistinct faces shouted grievances, some howled, their jaws slowly detaching until their entire faces melted onto the bars, their eyes slipping down, staring firmly at them.

In front of the prison, a man sat in a chair with his back to him.

"Do you know what an Executioner should do to be correct?"

Four-leaf Phoenix Tree remembered. It was his predecessor, a guy named Toriver. They had worked together in Lai’an City for a while.

The other was an easy-going person, so easy-going it was almost weak, always giving the feeling of not rushing, no matter how urgent the situation or how much pressure from the higher-ups. Sometimes he wanted to resolve things on behalf of this senior.

"What should be done?" Four-leaf Phoenix Tree asked the same question he had years ago.

"The more you do, the more mistakes you make. Do less, make fewer mistakes. Do nothing, make no mistakes. Remember these twelve words. They are our survival rules in this position. Unless the higher-ups explicitly direct you to do something, don’t do it."

"If you don’t intend to get involved in something, don’t even attempt to inquire about it."

"If you decide to do something, make sure it’s clean and flawless, with as few steps as possible, leaving no room for others to seize upon."

"Be amicable daily. When you decide to offend someone, make sure to kick them when they’re down."

"Once you’ve offended someone, don’t expect them to remember any past kindness. They are your enemy, and as an enemy, never give them a chance to rise again."

"Then why be amicable with them daily?"

The man let out a low laugh.

"Of course, to make them lower their guard."

Four-leaf Phoenix Tree recalled how shocked he had been upon hearing these words. The man’s image transformed instantly from a good-natured person to a deceitful and venomous snake.

Yet, this very snake had revealed all its survival secrets and vulnerabilities to him.

"My eyesight is poor, and I often can’t see the path clearly at night. When you see me, be sure to help me."

Four-leaf Phoenix Tree mused on the man’s words as he slowly walked behind him, pushing the chair over, only to see the man’s grim death visage.

His entire jaw had been corroded by strong acid, his body collapsed in the chair. One could imagine his immense suffering before death.

"Teacher," Four-leaf Phoenix Tree said, "it seems you were wrong."

"Your way of survival didn’t keep you alive."

"But it was useful to me." Four-leaf Phoenix Tree burned the letter in his hand.

The man’s way of handling things had brought him dislike from the bigwigs above. By chance, a letter with shocking inside information reached his hands. He knew very well what the man would face if he submitted that report and what he would gain.

He also understood clearly who had handed that report to him.

Should this report go unsubmitted, both he and the man would be accounted for by the higher-ups.

Since it couldn’t be stopped, he had to kick them when they were down to ensure he still held some control, advancing toward the future he desired.

The man chose suicide, and he took his place in that era, becoming the Chief Executioner of Lai’an City.