Yimi said directly, "You want to know why I killed Li Chengjie, right?"
Bai Ye nodded, "Yes, this is the only part of the process I couldn't figure out. The reason you covered for us should be that Allen's team arrived at Laboratory No. 3, and only then would Laboratory No. 3 be opened as a restricted zone, correct?"
Yimi nodded, then said, "I killed Li Chengjie because he had a hidden identity as a spy for the Rhine Company, sent by them."
"One reason was fear that the mirror world would be discovered, and the other was that Dr. Dale's recent actions were abnormal, repeatedly failing to report research progress to the company. Therefore, Li Chengjie's other mission was to retrieve the Life Crystal."
"As for whether the Life Crystal belongs to the restricted zone or is a mission item, neither is true. You should be well aware of the rules regarding held items; even if you kill someone, the killer cannot take anything from the held item."
"However, the Life Crystal is not considered a held item. In other words, it can be forcibly taken. If you die, others can take it from you."
"It's just that the Life Crystal is within the restricted zone, and if the zone isn't opened, it cannot be obtained. There are no missions related to the Life Crystal, but it's not impossible for some items to be related to certain missions."
Bai Ye asked, "What do you mean by 'some items'?"
Yimi replied, "The things the God Disciples want to obtain are not just the Life Crystal."
"So, the key point is..." Bai Ye probed, "What are God Disciples?"
Yimi explained, "God Disciples are people who died in the World Battlefield and have come back to life. However, their identities are no longer Chosen Ones, but God Disciples. I don't know the specifics, but you can understand it this way: God found some dead people and brought them back to life to work for Him."
"Working for God? I've never heard of that!"
Bai Ye raised an eyebrow.
Bai Ye had never heard of God Disciples, not in this life, and certainly not in his previous one.
This was what Bai Ye found unbelievable.
If there were abilities, equipment, restricted zones, or missions that Bai Ye didn't know about, it would be normal.
Even though Bai Ye had lived to the end in his previous life, he couldn't possibly have traversed every area of the World Battlefield, nor visited every restricted zone, nor completed every mission.
But the concept of God Disciples sounded significant. As a high-level player in his past life, Bai Ye felt it was strange that he hadn't heard of them.
Yimi, unaware of Bai Ye's internal doubts, said, "It's normal that you haven't heard of them; most people don't know."
"Firstly, the number of God Disciples is very, very small. Or rather, not everyone is qualified to work for the gods. Otherwise, with so many people dying every day, wouldn't God Disciples be everywhere? In fact, only those whose abilities are recognized receive such treatment."
"Secondly, God Disciples can be understood as God's puppets; they have no memories of their past lives..."
Yimi hesitated at this point, then continued.
"It's not that they have no memories of their past lives, but rather their memories are sealed by the gods. They don't know their past, nor do they have any connection to it."
"Thirdly, you can't distinguish God Disciples by their appearance. Simply put, you might have met them but not recognized them. For example, those two just now, do you recognize them?"
Bai Ye replied, "Yes, I sent them away."
Yimi: "..."
Yimi was speechless. Fortunately, the God Disciples didn't remember their past. Otherwise, if two people hadn't died today, this matter might not have ended here.
"If you didn't kill them, and you had never met them, would you still think they were God Disciples?"
Bai Ye pondered for a moment.
He could understand it that way.
Bai Ye had killed quite a few people in his previous life, but he wouldn't remember the minor figures. In the high-level clashes later on, there weren't many deaths, as they were all experts with life-saving means.
Occasionally, a few unfortunate souls might have perished, but not necessarily killed by Bai Ye. As long as he didn't encounter such an awkward "resurrection" situation, even if the other party were a God Disciple, Bai Ye truly wouldn't have been able to distinguish them.
In other words, Bai Ye might have encountered them in his previous life but simply didn't know they were God Disciples.
Bai Ye then asked, "So, what does it mean to 'work for God'?"
Yimi replied, "I don't know."
Bai Ye asked, "What are the things they want?"
Yimi replied, "I don't know."
Bai Ye inquired, "Is there anything special about the Life Crystal?"
Yimi replied, "I don't know."
Bai Ye asked, "Are you tired of living?"
"I don't know..." Yimi paused, then said with a wry smile, "I'm not hiding anything. This isn't something that concerns my interests or is forbidden to be spoken about. On the contrary, I don't object to more people knowing about the existence of God Disciples, because this matter might be related to how to leave the World Battlefield."
"Oh?"
Bai Ye's eyebrows shot up. Talking about how to leave the World Battlefield made him instantly alert.
Bai Ye urged, "Tell me everything you know."
Yimi glanced at the corpse of the female mage and said, "I had two companions, both from the same world. Besides Lailia, there was another named Kleister, but Kleister died in a previous restricted zone."
"In the World Battlefield, life and death are normal. But in a subsequent restricted zone, I accidentally found something called the Stone of Origin within the zone. I didn't pay much attention to it, but afterward, I was pursued by God Disciples."
Bai Ye asked, "Were the God Disciples chasing you your companions?"
"Yes." Yimi continued, "He was a very, very good friend of mine. No, we were brothers, like family. We grew up together in an orphanage, and even after leaving, we lived together. We spent thirty years together; we were an indelible presence to each other, and then we were both sent to the World Battlefield."
"This is also why I survived," Yimi said. "His past memories were sealed, but not lost. His memories were still deep within his heart; emotions are indelible."
Yimi pointed to his chest.
"He stabbed me here, but at the very moment he killed me, he cried. He remembered everything." Yimi explained, "He told me about the God Disciples, because after he died, he became a God Disciple. He also told me about God, and about how the God Disciples were searching for some things for the gods."
Bai Ye nodded and made a gesture to continue.
Yimi shook his head, "That's all."
Bai Ye exclaimed, "Tell me what he told you!"
Yimi replied, "He was only lucid for about five minutes, so he could only say so much. As his consciousness began to blur again, he chose to commit suicide."
...