God Slayer: Make Up for the Past

A biting chill crawled up his spine, a suffocating feeling pressing against his chest. Xiang Yu flung his eyes open, gasping for air. In the dim light, the mottled walls, the worn tables and chairs... everything seemed so familiar, yet so strange. Wasn't he supposed to have been in a car accident on his way to finish his manuscript? How did he end up here?

"Is this... the ruined temple in the Novice Village?" Xiang Yu muttered to himself, and an incredible thought exploded in his mind: he had been reborn, reborn into the world of his own novel, "Slaying the Gods"! A surge of ecstasy washed over him, and then, like a tidal wave, the original story's plot and the fates of its characters flooded into his mind. Those regrets that had once kept him awake at night, those tragic endings of his characters, now had a chance to change!

He stood up abruptly, his heart pounding with excitement. He knew there were still three days until the game officially launched. Three days, enough time for him to find Ma Ze, the friend who had sacrificed his life to protect him in the original story.

Xiang Yu pushed open the wooden door of the dilapidated temple, his eyes squinting slightly at the glaring sunlight. This was a world that felt both familiar and unfamiliar. Familiar was the street layout, the shop signs, even the faint floral scent that filled the air—they were exactly as he remembered them. Strange, however, was the way everything felt real and tangible, no longer just cold words and images on a computer screen.

He followed his memory and headed towards Maze's home. Along the way, he kept recalling the details from the original work, trying to find any clues that might change Maze's fate. He remembered that Maze's parents would suffer an accident the day before the game was launched, and this accident was the fuse that led to Maze's ultimate tragedy.

"We must stop this accident!" Xiang Yu clenched his fists and quickened his pace.

He walked through the bustling streets and arrived at a slightly shabby two-story building. This was Ma Ze's home. He took a deep breath and was about to knock on the door when he suddenly heard a heated argument from inside.

"No! Absolutely not! We can't sell this thing!" This was Ma Ze's voice, with a hint of trembling and anger.

"What do you know! This is our only way out!" Another rough male voice sounded, with a hint of helplessness and determination.

Xiang Yu's heart tightened, knowing that the plot from the original novel was playing out. He pushed open the door without hesitation, and saw a burly, middle-aged man glaring at Ma Ze. Ma Ze, on the other hand, was clutching an ancient wooden box tightly, his face full of stubbornness.

"Ma Ze!" Xiang Yu shouted.

Ma Ze and the middle-aged man turned to look at him at the same time, with expressions of surprise on their faces.

"Xiang Yu? Why are you here?" Ma Ze asked blankly.

Xiang Yu didn't answer, but walked straight to Ma Ze, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Long time no see."

The middle-aged man looked Xiang Yu up and down, his eyes full of doubt: "You are..."

"I'm Ma Ze's friend." Xiang Yu interrupted him and turned to look at Ma Ze with a firm gaze. "Ma Ze, let's go for a walk. I have something to tell you."

Ma Ze looked at Xiang Yu, then at his father, and finally nodded and followed Xiang Yu out of the house.

"What...exactly do you want to say?" Ma Ze couldn't help but ask while walking on the road.

Xiang Yu stopped, turned to look at him, and raised the corners of his mouth slightly: "I want to say..."

"I want to say, long time no see, my brother." Xiang Yu patted Ma Ze's shoulder heavily, with a barely perceptible tremor in his voice. He knew that the person standing before him was not just a character he had created, but also a close friend he had lost.

Ma Ze was a little confused and scratched his head in confusion: "We just met yesterday, why are you acting so strange today?"

Xiang Yu smiled and didn't explain. Instead, he pointed to a cafe on the street and said, "Let's go in and sit down. There are some things I want to talk to you about."

The two walked into the cafe and found a seat by the window. Xiang Yu ordered a cup of black coffee, but his thoughts drifted far away. He began to recall the world setting of "Slaying God." On the surface, this world was no different from ordinary modern society, but in reality, it concealed many extraordinary powers.

In the world of "Slayer of Gods," the power system is divided into several levels. At the top are the gods, possessing the power to destroy heaven and earth and controlling all laws of the world. Next are the Night Watchmen, who protect humanity against the forces of evil and possess powerful combat abilities and special skills. Below them are the Awakened, who possess a variety of superpowers but are relatively weaker.

Ordinary people, however, are at the bottom of the power hierarchy, completely unaware of the hidden truths of this world. Xiang Yu knows that after the game officially launches, the world will undergo earth-shattering changes. Countless monsters will invade from other worlds, posing a huge threat to humanity's survival.

"Ma Ze, do you know that the world is not as simple as it seems?" Xiang Yu suddenly said.

Ma Ze was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? What in this world is so complicated?"

Xiang Yu did not explain, but changed the subject: "By the way, how is your family recently?" He knew that if he told Ma Ze the truth directly, he would definitely not believe it.

Ma Ze sighed and said, "Oh, don't mention it. My dad has been obsessed with an antique lately and insists on selling it, saying he can make a lot of money. But I always feel that the item is not simple, and I don't want him to sell it."

Xiang Yu's heart moved. He knew that the antique that Ma Ze mentioned was the key item that caused his parents' accident.

"What does that antique look like?" Xiang Yu asked.

Ma Ze described the appearance of the antique, which was exactly the same as Xiang Yu remembered.

"Ma Ze, listen to me, don't let your father sell that antique!" Xiang Yu said in a serious tone.

Ma Ze was puzzled: "Why? That can be sold for a lot of money!"

Xiang Yu was about to explain when suddenly, several young men in fancy clothes came over and surrounded them.

"Hey, isn't that Ma Ze? What? You're hanging out with your poor friends again?" One of the young men with dyed yellow hair scoffed, his eyes fixed on Xiang Yu. "What the hell is that guy wearing? He looks like a country bumpkin."

Several other young people also joined in the fun and commented on Xiang Yu's clothes.

Ma Ze's face darkened. He stood up and stood in front of Xiang Yu: "What do you want to do?"

The yellow-haired young man sneered: "We don't want to do anything, we just want to remind you not to hang out with such poor people, it will lower your status."

As he said that, he reached out and pushed Xiang Yu.

A cold glint flashed in Xiang Yu's eyes. He knew that these people were the thugs who bullied Ma Ze in the original novel. According to the original plot, Ma Ze would be injured because of this conflict and miss an important opportunity.

"You..." Ma Ze glared at them and was about to take action.

"Wait a minute, Ma Ze." Xiang Yu grabbed Ma Ze's arm, a cold smile on his face, "Let me do it."

He took a step back, seemingly casually moving his feet, but secretly observing his surroundings. The street scene near the cafe in the original novel emerged clearly in his mind. He knew that there was a loose stone slab next to the trash can at the end of the alley.

Seeing Xiang Yu retreat, the yellow-haired young man thought he was scared and became even more arrogant: "What? Are you scared? It's too late to beg for mercy now!"

He rushed towards Yu, waving his fists. Several other thugs also rushed forward and surrounded Xiang Yu.

Xiang Yu's mouth corners rose slightly, he knew that the fun had just begun.

Just as the yellow-haired youth was about to touch him, Xiang Yu suddenly turned sideways and nimbly dodged his attack. At the same time, he exerted force with his feet and quickly moved behind the yellow-haired youth.

The yellow-haired young man missed his target and stumbled a few steps. Before he could react, he felt a sudden push on his back. He lost his balance and slammed his head against the trash can next to him, letting out a scream.

The other hooligans were stunned when they saw this. They had not expected that this skinny young man could be so agile.

"What are you standing there for? Come on together!" The yellow-haired young man roared, covering his head which was hurt by the collision.

The thugs finally reacted and rushed towards Yu, waving their fists.

Xiang Yu's eyes glared, and the descriptions of these thugs in the original novel kept flashing through his mind. He knew their attack methods and their weaknesses.

He dodged one man's punch by leaning sideways, then swiftly counterattacked, kicking the other man in the calf. The man screamed and fell to his knees.

The thugs began to panic. Their attacks were disorganized and they were completely led by Xiang Yu.

Xiang Yu dodged their attacks while looking for a chance to escape. He remembered that in the original novel, there was a small path in the back alley of the cafe that led to another street.

He seized an opportunity and rushed to the back alley. The hooligans immediately chased after him.

Xiang Yu ran quickly along the route he remembered, constantly recalling the details from the original work and looking for terrain that could be used.

He ran to the end of the alley and saw the loose stone slab. He was delighted, knowing that this was his chance.

He stepped hard on the stone slab, which flipped over, revealing a hidden hole.

Xiang Yu jumped into the cave without hesitation and disappeared from the sight of the gangsters.

The hooligans chased him to the cave entrance, but they didn't dare to jump in. They looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

"Damn it! He got away!" the yellow-haired young man cursed angrily.

Xiang Yu quickly moved through the passage below the cave entrance. As he ran, he recalled the world setting of "Slaying God" and his own cheat code.

He knew that his golden finger was not only the memory of the plot, but also the understanding of the hidden rules and power of this world.

He felt that his golden finger was gradually awakening and becoming more powerful.

He finally found the approximate location of Ma Ze, an old residential area.

However, just as he approached the community, he felt a mysterious and powerful aura that made him feel uneasy.

"What...is this?" He stopped and muttered to himself.

Xiang Yu held his breath, his heartbeat accelerating. This aura was strange and powerful, inconsistent with any power system he remembered from "Slaying God." Could it be that this world had undergone some unknown change due to his rebirth? He tried to recall the description of this area in the original novel, trying to find a clue. Suddenly, he remembered that the original novel mentioned some strange incidents that had occurred near this old neighborhood, but they were all covered up by the authorities as "urban legends." Could it be that these "urban legends" were not groundless?

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. Now wasn't the time for random thoughts; finding Maze was the most urgent task. He closed his eyes, concentrating, trying to more clearly sense the source of that aura. Gold Finger's memories flooded into his mind like a tide, and he quickly filtered through the information, searching for any possible clues.

A vague image flashed through his mind: In the original novel, there seemed to be a secret underground passage near Ma Ze's residence, originally used for emergency shelter but later abandoned. If he remembered correctly, the entrance was under an old locust tree at the rear of the community. Perhaps that was where the mysterious aura came from.

Thinking of this, Xiang Yu no longer hesitated. He walked around the main gate of the community and headed towards the back. Along the way, he carefully avoided the crowds and tried not to attract anyone's attention. He kept recalling the details in the original book to confirm that he had taken the right path.

Finally, he found the old locust tree. Its thick trunk, lush branches and leaves blocked out the sun, making it look particularly eerie in the night. Xiang Yu walked under the tree and carefully observed his surroundings. According to the original novel's description, the entrance should be near the tree's roots. He squatted down and used his hands to push aside the thick fallen leaves. Sure enough, a stone slab engraved with a strange pattern appeared before his eyes.

He pushed the stone slab hard, but it didn't budge. It seemed that a specific method was needed to open it. Xiang Yu closed his eyes again, concentrating his mind, trying to connect more deeply with the memory of the golden finger.

This time, he "saw" more. He "saw" the meaning of the pattern on the stone slab, and he "saw" the method to open the entrance. Following the instructions in his memory, he pressed his palm against the stone slab and injected a trace of mental energy. The stone slab emitted a slight humming sound and slowly moved to the side, revealing a pitch-black hole.

The mysterious aura grew stronger, as if waiting for him just below the cave entrance. Xiang Yu took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and jumped in without hesitation. Below the cave entrance was a narrow passage, pitch dark. Xiang Yu groped along the wall, slowly moving forward. A damp and chilly air filled the passage, sending a chill through him.

"Ma Ze, wait for me..." He whispered to himself, his tone full of determination. Suddenly, he heard a faint sound coming from the front, like the breathing of some creature.