Demon Chapter

Outside, thunder roared and lightning flashed. Owen Xu sat on the leather sofa, holding a glass of expensive red wine. Behind him stood two young women dressed in revealing clothes, their delicate fingers massaging the flabby flesh on his shoulders. The villa Owen Xu was in was located halfway up a mountain in the suburbs. It had an elegant environment and fresh air. The front yard featured a lawn, while the back had a large private swimming pool. Anyone staying here would feel an overwhelming sense of luxury and awe. Extravagance and indulgence were the eternal themes of this place. However, Owen Xu was not here for a vacation. The softness and fragrance of a beautiful woman could melt any man, but at this moment, Owen Xu had no time to enjoy these pleasures. Even the top-shelf red wine in his glass tasted bland as it slid down his throat. Because he was here to hide. Besides the two young women he had paid a considerable sum to entertain him, there were also several bodyguards in black suits in the room. These bodyguards were all seasoned experts, highly skilled in their trade. In the outer rooms, there were over a dozen more bodyguards he had hired at great expense, not to mention the guards stationed at every passage and entrance of the villa. In front of the main and rear doors, two police cars were parked, with more than ten armed officers monitoring the area around the clock—all for his protection. The reason for such heavy security was not only due to Owen Xu's special status but also because, a few days prior, he had survived an assassination attempt. That day, he had been lucky; one of his bodyguards had taken a blade for him. A small knife, no more than seven or eight inches long, had pierced the bodyguard's throat. Warm blood splattered onto Owen Xu's skin before cooling. The sensation had nearly made him wet his pants. If the other bodyguards hadn't protected him desperately, Owen Xu might have already met his maker. As the head of a large corporation and a member of the local government's political consultative conference, Owen Xu naturally had enough wealth and influence to hire bodyguards and police for protection. Yet, even so, he still did not feel safe. He was terrified! No one is unafraid of death, especially not someone like Owen Xu, a man who had achieved both fame and fortune. If he knew someone was constantly thinking about killing him, anyone would find it hard to sleep soundly. So, Owen Xu used his connections, not only hiring more bodyguards than usual but also demanding the police investigate the killer. The police demonstrated their excellent detective skills, and just a few minutes ago, the killer's information was placed before Owen Xu. 'Gavin Lin, male, 21 years old, orphan. Sponsored since childhood by the businessman Ryan. Excelled in primary and secondary school, admitted to a business college in country M after high school. Graduated with honors a year ago, holding three master's degrees, including one in psychology. Subsequently worked in country M. However, after Ryan's accidental death, Gavin Lin resigned from his job in country M and returned to pay his respects. For unknown reasons, he disappeared three months ago. A few days ago, after comparing fingerprints left at the crime scene and physical characteristics captured on surveillance, we confirmed the perpetrator is Gavin Lin. A warrant for his arrest has been issued, and we believe he will be apprehended soon!' A police officer with gold-rimmed glasses read the information aloud to Owen Xu. Upon hearing Ryan's name, Owen Xu's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly. He leaned back into the soft leather sofa, his expression revealing a dawning realization. The question that had long plagued Owen Xu was finally answered: why an assassin had come for him. The reason boiled down to Ryan. Ryan, an honest businessman, had crossed paths with Owen Xu due to business conflicts and was subsequently killed by Owen Xu's men, who successfully made it look like a traffic accident. After that, Owen Xu had even gone so far as to kidnap Ryan's wife and brutally r**e her. As an orphan sponsored by Ryan, it was only natural for Gavin Lin to seek revenge for his benefactor. But the plot against Ryan should have been untraceable. How did Gavin Lin find out? 'I want you to do everything in your power to capture this Gavin Lin. If necessary...' Owen Xu had not finished speaking when, out of nowhere, a click sounded, and the villa's lights suddenly went out. 'What's going on?' The room plunged into darkness, startling Owen Xu. Already as jumpy as a frightened bird, he was genuinely terrified. The room descended into chaos. In the darkness, Owen Xu felt something cold press against his neck. The object was icy, and the sharp sensation on his skin triggered a flash of memory in Owen Xu's mind. A knife—there was a knife resting against his neck, exceedingly sharp. This made Owen Xu feel his bladder tighten. He wanted to scream, but couldn't. 'You want to scream? Go ahead. I guarantee the blood spurting from your throat will be from your arteries!' A cold voice echoed in Owen Xu's ear. Terror seized Owen Xu to the core. He recognized the voice; it was the same one he had heard just seconds before. It was the police officer with the glasses. Paralyzed by fear, Owen Xu could only nod. He truly couldn't comprehend why the officer would do this. Sensing Owen Xu's terror, the policeman spoke in an unnervingly calm tone: 'Are you scared now? So, you can feel fear too. Then, when you plotted to kill Ryan and kidn*pped and murdered his wife, did you feel fear? Did you ever imagine someone would seek justice for them today?' At that moment, Owen Xu could neither nod nor shake his head. All he hoped was that the sluggish bodyguards in the room would react sooner. 'Don't delude yourself. When I entered this villa posing as a policeman, I tampered with the electrical panel. It will take them at least a minute to restore power, and a minute is enough for you to make your peace. Oh, and don't forget to kneel and apologize to Uncle Ryan and his wife when you see them in the afterlife!' Hearing this, Owen Xu was stunned for a moment before he suddenly realized who this policeman was. This person was Gavin Lin! He struggled to shout, but a sharp pain suddenly pierced his neck. Owen Xu's throat and artery were slit in one swift motion. All he could do was make a gurgling sound; he was powerless to do anything else. Life is so fragile—a single cut can end it. About ten seconds later, a bodyguard fixed the damaged electrical box, and the lights came back on. The people in the room had just breathed a sigh of relief when they were met with an utterly horrifying scene. Owen Xu was sitting on his leather sofa, covered in blood, half his neck slit open, already dead. 'How is this possible? How did the assassin get in?' The young, bespectacled policeman, now splattered with blood, shouted at the bodyguards around him, his reaction one of normal shock and surprise. The bodyguards in the room stared at each other, wide-eyed. They had seen nothing moments before, and their boss had had his throat silently slit in less than a minute. Owen Xu was dead, and the scene descended into chaos. A large number of police officers swarmed into the room, but the young policeman with the glasses left indifferently. The rain outside had lessened. The young policeman still held the file he had just received. 'I never thought the police would find my information so quickly, but it's too late now. Hah, evildoers will be punished, and no one can stop it!' Outside, the young policeman, Gavin Lin, threw his glasses onto the roadside and tore the file in his hands to pieces, tossing them into a corner. The police outside relayed the news of Owen Xu's death through radios and phones. In no time, hundreds of officers would converge here. Gavin Lin knew he had to leave before that. Just then, Gavin Lin saw a group of police officers rushing in. Among them was a man stripped to the waist, frantically untying the ropes from his wrists and shouting at the top of his lungs, pointing directly at him. In that instant, Gavin Lin knew he had been exposed. He had been too soft-hearted, unwilling to kill an innocent. Earlier, to pose as a policeman, he had only knocked out an officer of similar build, stripped him of his uniform, tied him up, and dumped him in the weeds by the roadside. Now, Gavin Lin was about to taste the bitter fruit of his 'mercy'. At that moment, many police officers on the other side raised their guns. Gavin Lin knew he absolutely could not be captured. He threw himself violently into the nearby bushes as gunshots rang out. Bullets whizzed past Gavin Lin, but one struck him hard in the lower back. The sharp pain made him groan, but he still gritted his teeth and endured the pain, leaping down the small hill beside the road. After about ten minutes, Gavin Lin temporarily evaded the police pursuit, but he had no strength left due to excessive blood loss. Coldness and exhaustion washed over him instantly. The area where he had been shot was completely numb, and he felt no pain at all. Gavin Lin turned a corner and had to sit down. He didn't even need to look at the wound to know he was dying. But he couldn't die here yet, because Ryan had a seventeen-year-old daughter. While sorting through Ryan's belongings, Gavin Lin had found an envelope containing a note asking him to take care of the daughter if anything happened to Ryan and his wife. His benefactor had entrusted his only daughter to him. That was why Gavin Lin could not die. Moreover, Owen Xu had a younger brother who controlled the local underworld. If he learned his brother had died because of Ryan, he would certainly not let Ryan's only daughter live. Therefore, Gavin Lin absolutely could not die—at least, not now. Yet, life was still slipping away. Gradually, Gavin Lin felt he had completely lost control of his body. A large pool of blood had formed beside him, shimmering with a dazzling crimson under the streetlights. Several times, Gavin Lin tried to get up, but his body seemed no longer his own. His eyelids grew heavier, and drowsiness swept over him like a tidal wave. Just as Gavin Lin, on the verge of death, was about to close his eyes, he suddenly heard a voice. The voice seemed to come from very far away, yet it was as if it were right beside his ear. "Are you unwilling? Offer your soul, and I will let you live!" Chapter 1: Tristram Sitting between two rows of rotting wooden chairs, Gavin Lin stared at everything before him. Just seconds ago, he had felt as if he’d woken from a dream—like someone who’d zoned out, dozed off, and then suddenly snapped back to reality. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in this place. Gavin was accustomed to observing his surroundings first whenever he found himself somewhere unfamiliar. So the moment he came to, his first instinct was to figure out where he was. The memory of killing Owen Xu still lingered vividly in his mind. After that, he’d been shot—and then… he ended up here. He’d once thought that if he hadn’t died, he might wake up in a hospital room or even a police cell. But this place clearly had nothing to do with either. All around him was decay and darkness, and the air carried a musty stench nearly strong enough to make him vomit. After a quick scan, Gavin realized he was in an extremely spacious chamber. Within seconds, he made out a row of dilapidated wooden chairs, along with religious-themed paintings and bas-reliefs on the ceiling and stained glass. Clearly, this was the interior of a church—one that had long been abandoned. “What on earth happened?” Gavin tried to recall, but couldn’t remember how he’d gotten here. Moreover, when he touched the spot where he’d been shot, it was completely unharmed. Then, something suddenly came back to him. After being shot, he’d heard a voice telling him that if he didn’t want to die like that, he should offer his soul. At the time, Gavin faintly remembered shouting “I am willing!” in his heart without hesitation. And now he was here—clearly no coincidence. At that moment, an icy voice echoed in his ears. “Contractor #1065, entering Act I, Chapter 6 of The Devil’s Chapter: the world of Diablo. Scene difficulty: Normal. As this is Contractor #1065’s first entry into The Devil’s Chapter, the rules will be read free of charge. Please pay close attention…” “Because you offered your soul to the demon, you have been granted a chance at rebirth—but the shadow of death has not lifted. Fortunately, there are no dead ends in this world, and the merciful demon has left you the necessary ‘life.’ Now, recite the incantation ‘clock’ to check your remaining life…” Clock? Remaining life? Gavin was filled with doubt, but he tentatively spoke the word “clock” as instructed. The moment he finished speaking, a strange clock slowly materialized before him. Staring at it, Gavin was utterly stunned—it defied the laws of physics, floating midair as if weightless. The clock was entirely crafted from a bone-like substance, adorned with numerous dark, horned skeletons. If put up for auction, it could easily pass as a piece of macabre art. At the top was inscribed the number “1065”—the same number the voice had mentioned earlier. The time-display portion resembled that of an electronic watch. Gavin easily recognized the digits representing years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds. “Two hours and fifteen minutes?” Gavin muttered to himself. The clock before him displayed exactly that—and with each passing second, the time ticked down by one, like a countdown. Watching the numbers steadily decrease, Gavin suddenly felt a chill of foreboding. Hadn’t the voice just said this time represented his remaining life? So he only had two hours and fifteen minutes left to live? It sounded absurd. Remember, Contractor: in the world of The Devil’s Chapter, life is time. Time can be earned, and time can also be spent as currency. Next, read the scene task prompt… Main Mission – “Escape Tristram”: Before your clock runs out, follow Deckard Cain to escape demon-occupied Tristram. Reward upon completion: 30 hours. Difficulty: Normal. Side Mission 1 – “Kill a Demon”: Slay any demon to earn time. The amount earned depends on the demon’s level. Valuable items may also be found and exchanged for time. Difficulty: Normal. Side Mission 2 – “Kill Griswold”: Once a blacksmith, Griswold was slain by the demon lord Diablo and resurrected as a zombie. If you are strong enough, liberate this tormented soul from its suffering. Reward upon completion: 24 hours. Difficulty: Hard. Additional Tip: Silently think “attributes” to view your Contractor profile… Touching items or creatures reveals their stats… Also note: if your clock resets, you die. If the main mission remains incomplete, your clock will be forcibly reset… Now, Act I, Chapter 6 of The Devil’s Chapter begins! With that, the mysterious voice vanished. Gavin immediately followed the instruction and silently thought “attributes.” Instantly, a translucent panel appeared before his eyes, displaying the following: Contractor #1065 Lineage: Human | Gender: Male | Level: 0 (24 hours required to reach Level 1) Health: 30 | Defense: 0 Attributes: Strength: 4 (average for adult male) Agility: 6 (average) Stamina: 3 (average) Intelligence: 4 (average) Skills: None | Profession: None Gavin could feel his heartbeat quicken. Everything he’d seen and heard so far was utterly surreal. After dismissing the attribute panel, he was certain the voice hadn’t been lying. If this were a prank or scam, no one could fabricate such impossible phenomena. That meant one thing: if he failed to complete the main mission as instructed, his clock would reset—and Gavin Lin would die. He scratched his head, already resolved. He couldn’t risk his life testing whether the voice was truthful—especially since everything pointed to it being real. To survive, he had to follow its instructions and complete the main quest. Gavin wasn’t unfamiliar with games. During his studies abroad, he’d joined a research group focused on the “Ninth Art”—a term referring to video games as an artistic medium. The group believed that games lacking depth, lore, or narrative were mere entertainment for fools, while those with rich world-building, history, and character development truly qualified as art—and thus worthy of academic study. These games featured self-contained mythologies, intricate backstories, and well-developed characters. Notably, Diablo had been one of their case studies. “Deckard Cain is a pivotal character in Diablo. He is the last Horadrim sage—a heretic deeply versed in esoteric history and knowledge—who offers guidance and drives the game’s central plot forward.” Gavin had a sharp memory, and Cain’s basic profile immediately surfaced in his mind. The main quest required him to follow Cain and escape Tristram within the allotted time. In the original game, a similar storyline unfolded: the player-controlled hero would activate five stone pillars in the Stony Field to open a portal, fight through monsters, and rescue Cain. That meant that within the next two and a half hours, someone—the player character—would arrive to save Cain. Gavin’s best bet was to hitch a ride on that rescue mission and slip out of Tristram with them. At that moment, a loud crash echoed from outside the church. Gavin froze, then slowly crept to the door and peered through a c***k. What he saw was a sight he’d never forget. Beyond the small church stood a much larger cathedral—its roof collapsed, parts of it burning fiercely. Suspended in the center was a wooden cage, inside which sat a frail, dispirited old man. Beneath the cage, a dozen or so decaying zombies shuffled aimlessly. But what caught Gavin’s attention wasn’t them—it was a towering figure over two meters tall, radiating raw strength. The giant wore clothing resembling a blacksmith’s garb. His face was twisted with fury, his mouth wide and filled with sharp fangs—clearly no longer human. Gavin looked away after just one glance. He knew instantly: since this was Diablo’s Tristram, the old man in the cage must be Deckard Cain—and the hulking monster below was Griswold. Griswold had once been a blacksmith, but Diablo killed him and raised him as an undead abomination. In the game, Griswold was cursed, dealing enhanced damage and possessing immense physical power. With such a terrifying foe outside, Gavin held his breath, not daring to make a sound. He now understood: his safest course was to stay hidden in this rear chamber of the church, wait for the heroes to arrive, rescue Cain, and then slip away unnoticed. That was the most straightforward way to complete the main mission. But… was it really? Gavin wasn’t the type to play it safe. If he were, he never would’ve impersonated a police officer and taken such a huge risk to kill Owen Xu. He knew better than to rely on others. The law, for all its polish, served only the elite—it couldn’t punish men like Owen Xu. True justice, true vengeance, had to be taken with one’s own hands. Waiting here like a turtle hiding in its shell? That wasn’t him. Doing so would mean surrendering his fate to strangers. Too many unknowns: the monsters might find him first; even if they didn’t, would the rescuers arrive in time? And even if they did—they weren’t coming for him, but for Cain. No one would protect him. In that scenario, Gavin would be utterly vulnerable. Better to take control himself. He made his decision then and there—and began re-examining the main mission. Soon, he noticed something critical: the objective only required him and Cain to “escape” Tristram. It never said he had to wait for someone else to rescue Cain. A realization struck him—he’d been trapped by his own assumption. Why wait for others to save Cain at all?