"Are we supposed to follow him?"
The scene became extremely bizarre. None of them wanted to be the first target of the hunt, and these monsters each had their own ulterior motives.
In the end, no monster made a move, nor did any try to escape.
They watched as Qi Yuan strolled leisurely through the amusement park, following behind him like a group of obedient schoolchildren.
Each monster tried hard to minimize its presence, especially the contract ability monster that had been praised.
They had no interest now in watching humans fight to the death, only wanting to get rid of this harbinger of doom as quickly as possible.
The opportunity to get rid of him would come the moment Qi Yuan made his move. Whoever was unlucky enough to be targeted by Qi Yuan would have to accept their fate. The remaining monsters would then swarm him until one side perished.
What was originally meant to ensure a fair distribution of human contracts had turned into shackles of death - they now had to stand together.
Qi Yuan, of course, had no intention of fulfilling their wishes. He had no reason to rush into action before maxing out his experience card to the point where he could fully control the situation.
He moved unhurriedly, like a leader on an inspection tour, occasionally making comments.
"Interesting rules. The participants' strengths vary greatly. If we were simply selecting the strongest, there would be no suspense. I see, increasing the suspense makes the game more entertaining."
Although he hadn't received memories from his avatar, he had witnessed firsthand the process of an ordinary person sabotaging an ability user. Qi Yuan deduced that this must be the rule the victor had mentioned.
The monsters remained silent behind him, and his avatar didn't speak either.
But Qi Yuan, as if oblivious to the tense atmosphere, continued talking to himself, "You all seem to enjoy seeking entertainment. It looks like we're kindred spirits."
"He's threatening and intimidating us."
The monsters, like non-identical multiplets, all had the same thought flash through their minds.
Their nerves became increasingly taut, with tension and unease gradually rising.
With the monsters' physical attributes, hearing humans talking nearby was an easy feat, but the human voices slowly became muffled.
"Hey! Stop fighting! That looks like Qi Yuan of the Dark Nine Seats!"
"What a cliché trick. I can't believe you're using it."
"Holy crap! It really is Qi Yuan. What's the point of fighting now?!"
Those who had planned to sit back and reap the benefits couldn't help but exclaim in surprise from the corners.
The person who didn't believe felt his heart sink. If two people were to team up, taking action directly would be much faster than fabricating an outrageous lie.
He adjusted his position, quickly glancing around with his peripheral vision, and blurted out, "Damn it all! Let whoever wants to play this game play it!"
"Brother Liang! This is too intense! Even the Dark Nine Seats have been mobilized. It's a good thing I listened to you and didn't make a move."
The chubby guy excitedly flushed red, trying to put his arm around Brother Liang's shoulder, only to find him looking equally stunned.
"Fatty, am I seeing things? Those following behind look like monsters."
"Uh... yeah," the chubby guy said enviously, "When will I ever be that cool! Not only does he have a row of subordinates, but even monsters are obediently following behind. Geez, that's some serious street cred..."
They didn't suspect that Qi Yuan had betrayed humanity; it was common knowledge that Qi Yuan of the Dark Nine Seats enjoyed tormenting and toying with monsters.
The monsters, of course, were also aware of this...
Qi Yuan heard their chaotic thoughts and estimated that if he applied more pressure, once the thread of rationality snapped, things would go awry. And if one monster made a move, the others would follow in a frenzy.
The newly promoted monsters had much worse psychological resilience than the veterans.
But novices were easier to deceive. With just a little pressure, they would imagine things in the direction he wanted, leaving the veterans powerless to change the situation.
"I know what you're thinking."
He didn't deliberately maintain a poker face or smile with pleasure. He spoke as if stating something obvious, "Use your brains. Why couldn't that monster distinguish between false and real?"
This question opened a gap, momentarily making the monsters forget their pent-up tension.
Why?
Such a bug-like illusion ability was only manifested in Qi Yuan alone.
The question they couldn't figure out before once again swirled in their minds.
Only the monster who didn't know who Qi Yuan was looked towards its companions in confusion.
Qi Yuan laughed silently. Good, almost all the monsters were following his train of thought.
These monsters didn't know the actual situation of SSS-class monsters and ability users, which gave him room to maneuver.
"It's such a simple matter, yet you're taking so long to guess. I'm a bit disappointed."
He stopped walking, no longer turning his back on the group of monsters. By facing them, he increased the sense of pressure, making the monsters completely forget other possibilities. "SSS-class illusion ability users can transform illusory things into reality, and real things into illusions. Is that so hard to guess?"
"SSS-class ability user? How is that possible?"
"Transforming reality into illusion, and illusion into reality?!"
"I see, that's why it couldn't distinguish between reality and illusion!"
"Wait! Does that mean if this human wants us to become illusions, we'll become illusions?! No wonder everyone's so scared!"
The power within him surged continuously, and Qi Yuan was extremely satisfied.
Monsters who were both incompetent and loved to overthink were indeed his best friends. He hoped it would demonstrate its strengths later, working hard to contribute to his organization.
While Qi Yuan unilaterally declared that monster as his friend, he also didn't forget to fully unleash the power he had gained.
With him at the center, the domain spread outward like ripples in water...
The monsters finally snapped out of their shock, frantically trying to escape, with Qi Yuan's voice constantly ringing in their ears.
"I told you, we're kindred spirits."
Who wants to be kindred spirits with you?!
The monsters screamed internally.
This human was becoming more and more perverted! To toy with and cruelly play with them, he even went so far as to reveal his own information.
He must be certain they couldn't escape his grasp!
The invisible ripples made them sense a kind of indescribable danger. The places touched by the ripples seemed to be, for a moment, like a word seen too many times, unable to determine if it was right or wrong, in a state between reality and illusion.
Contradictory yet harmonious, an indescribable, eerie feeling.
The ripples moved quickly, soon touching their bodies...
For a moment, the monsters clearly felt their bodies were still there, sensations transmitting normally, but they also felt that the parts touched by the ripples didn't exist.
This feeling quickly disappeared as they were completely engulfed by the ripples.
However, the ripples didn't stop spreading, continuously extending until they enveloped the entire amusement park.
The monsters felt despair in their hearts. Just when they thought the journey of torment had ended, they heard the voice of that perverted human again, like a demon:
"Welcome to the Divine Amusement Park."