There is One New Rule Every Month Globally

An ice coffin lay quietly on the rooftop terrace.

Dark clouds filled the sky above Yancheng, and the wild wind howled, causing the clothes of Chen Yi and his companion to flutter noisily. The air lacked yesterday's summer heat and instead carried a slight, chilling sting.

Visibility was poor.

A large amount of blood pooled at the bottom of the ice coffin, soaking Sword Without End's white robes to a crimson hue. His slightly green lips exuded an air of desolation.

"June's weather sure changes quickly."

Tuberculosis Rabbit, with one hand in his pocket and a cigarette in his mouth, looked up at the black clouds overhead and said in a daze, "I actually like this kind of weather, it always gives a really comfortable feeling."

"If we were in an Immortal World, the next scene should be Sword Without End's ice coffin suddenly struck by a bolt of heavenly thunder. Not only would it allow Sword Without End to be reborn from the ashes, but he would also undergo a transformation and acquire an extremely pure Sword Spirit Root, fulfilling his dream of becoming a Sword Immortal," he mused.

Chen Yi did not speak, simply standing at the edge of the rooftop, leaning on his cane and gazing into the distance.

For a while, neither of them spoke, merely enjoying the quiet before the storm.

After some time had passed.

Tuberculosis Rabbit flicked away the cigarette in his hand, which had long since gone out, "Yi, didn't you say you wanted to go to KTV and sing after getting out? Are we still going?"

"No, we're not."

Chen Yi shook his head, turned around with his cane, and started walking downstairs. "Let's go back. We'll rest at home tonight."

"Okay."

The ice coffin was somewhat heavy, but Chen Yi and his companion still managed to move it into their rented apartment. After all, since they had promised Sword Without End to take care of his body, they naturally wouldn't let it be washed away by the rain on the rooftop.

...

Inside the house.

Chen Yi lay on his side on the bed, staring out the window, lost in thought and silent.

The environment always affects one's mood.

He didn't really agree with what Sword Without End said today. Sword Without End mentioned that he never experienced the feeling of family, that he had been alone since he came to this world—seemingly carefree but like a transient guest, never really part of this world.

He was an orphan, indeed, without parents since childhood.

But he wasn't without family.

Tuberculosis Rabbit was his family.

As for the lover...Chen Yi's expression drifted as he thought of Jiaye. It seemed like the girl had feelings for him, and she did fit his aesthetic, but he couldn't quite imagine what it would be like to be with a woman.

Go on a date?

Was he supposed to leave Tuberculosis Rabbit alone at home while he went out on a date with Jiaye? Impossible.

But if he took Tuberculosis Rabbit along, wouldn't it be strange for three people to go on a date?

Express feelings of love?

Everything was fine when they were just friends; suddenly becoming lovers felt odd.

Besides, the reason he never wanted to have a pet was that he would be sad when it died. If he got together with Jiaye and she died, wouldn't he end up distraught like Sword Without End, living in a daze?

Lost in these chaotic thoughts, Chen Yi didn't even notice that his mood at the moment was completely different from usual. He just lay there, looking at the oppressive dark clouds, letting his mind wander.

At this time, Tuberculosis Rabbit had already entered work mode.

Dressed in work clothes and surrounded by an array of tools, Tuberculosis Rabbit lay at the edge of the ice coffin, looking at Sword Without End's pale face, and sighed, "You're lucky. I normally charge quite a bit."

"I'm feeling a bit itchy to do some work today, so I'll serve you this once."

He then proceeded to remove all the residual blood from the bottom of the ice coffin with a tool, followed by suturing the wound, injecting preservatives, undressing, cleaning, changing clothes, applying makeup, etc.

After this whole process.

Sword Without End in the ice coffin no longer looked disheveled. Instead, he lay there in clean and tidy clothes, exuding a dignified presence as if he were ready to open his eyes and strike down anyone at a moment's notice.

"Not bad."

Tuberculosis Rabbit stretched his shoulders, looking somewhat satisfied at his handiwork in the ice coffin. After admiring it for a while, he couldn't help but feel a bit regretful, "It's a shame the wound is too small; the body is intact, not really showcasing my true skills."

"I once restored a corpse that weighed only 5 pounds, modeled on the deceased's 3D rendering to replicate their appearance perfectly. That was my real craft."

Then, suddenly thinking of something, he turned to Yi, "Yi, you better die before me. That way, I can take care of your body, making sure your burial is dignified, and spare you a lot of disgrace."

"..."

Chen Yi, who had been absorbed in his thoughts, was snapped back to reality by Tuberculosis Rabbit's words. He lay back expressionlessly, not glancing at Tuberculosis Rabbit, and instead grabbed a pillow and covered his face with it.

"It's almost 9 o'clock. Time to sleep."

"Can't expect you to be cultured, but wish you'd speak like a normal person."

"Oh."

Seeing that Chen Yi was ready to sleep, Tuberculosis Rabbit pursed his lips, took off his gloves and threw them into the trash bin, glanced contentedly at his trophy in the ice coffin one last time, then hurriedly washed up and lay down on his bed to sleep.

...

Half an hour later.

Chen Yi and Tuberculosis Rabbit both fell into deep slumber.

The windows were tightly shut, and one could even faintly hear the howling wind outside and the rat-a-tat of raindrops fiercely pelting the glass. The sky was extremely dark, making the environment quite conducive to sleep.

If it were during their student days, encountering such weather during the last evening self-study session would indeed be a fortunate thing.

It is human nature to subconsciously seek the comfort of the group in times of crisis.

Youthful ignorance.

In stormy weather, staying in a slightly damp classroom, with the air filled with the fresh scent of mud brought by the heavy rain, if fortunate enough to experience a power outage, the darkness enveloping everything, a mere casual touch of the arm with the person you have a budding crush on could give rise to a thrill and a sense of happiness right from the bottom of your heart.

Regrettably, time waits for no one.

In one's youthful years, an unintentional touch of the arms would send shivers down the spine.

Yet, by the time one reaches middle age, only at the moment of drawing a sword does one shiver.

Indeed, it has become far less interesting.

However, Chen Yi and Tuberculosis Rabbit were both sleeping especially soundly.

Perhaps they were tired from the day's events, even Chen Yi let out a series of steady and quiet snores, which was an extremely rare occurrence for him. As for Tuberculosis Rabbit, his mouth never stopped moving.

It made the room less silent, but more lively.

"I'm beat today, my first time killing so many people. I was planning to repent before going to sleep, but I forgot."

"Sword Without End died today."

"How did he die, if not by suicide? He had to go on about descending to hell to see his deceased wife and family."

"But then again, since there are Hell Players, there should also be Heaven Players, right?"

"What if Sword Without End hadn't done anything bad in his life and instead of going to hell, he went to heaven?"

"That's unlikely. Sword Without End said he killed someone in Black Trench City. Since he committed murder, he's definitely going to hell. But the question is, did his wife ever do anything bad in her life? What if she ended up in heaven?"

"And why is it..."

In the silence of the room, Tuberculosis Rabbit's voice kept sounding.

Just then,

Right above Chen Yi and Tuberculosis Rabbit, a barely visible phantom emerged, none other than Gao Yiming.

"A gentleman seeks revenge; it is never too late!"

Gao Yiming floated above the two men, gazing at the sleeping Chen Yi with a look of deep resentment before letting out a particularly hearty and vindictive laugh.

"You killed Uncle Wei, you killed my subordinates, and you even killed me!"

"Today, I will kill your brother and let you taste the pain of losing a dear comrade!"

"I can't believe you two actually managed to make it out of the Werewolf Kill map alive, dodging a 97% death rate. It seems your luck is really good, but I wonder if it will continue to favor you this time?"

After that, he didn't linger any longer.

With eyes full of spite and hatred, he shot directly towards Tuberculosis Rabbit, plunging into his dreamscape. He planned to scare Tuberculosis Rabbit to death in the dream, to have him die under the rules of May!

The very next second—

Tuberculosis Rabbit, already deep in sleep, suddenly started speaking with a hint of surprise: "Hey, isn't that Gao Yiming? You're not dead? What are you doing in my dream?"

At that moment,

Gao Yiming stood in the same place, completely baffled and looking around, unclear of the situation at hand. Explore more stories at empire

He had transformed into a ghastly spirit covered in blood, with a head full of eyes, and dived into Tuberculosis Rabbit's dreamscape, ready to commit his dreadful deed. Everything had gone smoothly until now, but Tuberculosis Rabbit's dream seemed somewhat strange.

Tuberculosis Rabbit was sitting atop a low stone on the peak of Green Mountain, with dark clouds piling up endlessly in the sky, and the constant howling of fierce winds around him.

The moment he appeared, Tuberculosis Rabbit recognized him.

Below Tuberculosis Rabbit was a throng of people... wait, could they even be called people?

The figure to the far left was a giant skeleton without a trace of flesh, with ghostly flames flickering in its eye sockets and its large head tilting as it stared right at him.

It looked like a huge skull.

At this moment, the skull was simply seated at the foot of the mountain, gazing up at Tuberculosis Rabbit sitting at the peak.

This skull was so massive it seemed taller than Green Mountain itself. Rough estimates would put it at thousands of meters in height!

There was also a woman in a red Soul Garment standing next to the skull, wearing a veil and staring at him. Unlike the skull seated at the base of Green Mountain, this woman was standing at its foot, suggesting she was shorter than the skull.

But she too was a few thousand meters tall, at least.

Her eyes, larger than his entire body, turned towards him like two bloody moons in the sky.

Upon his sudden appearance, she let out a giggle that seemed both coy and thunderous, as if her voice boomed across the entire world, deafening to the ear.

Looking further aside, there was a colossal Gundam. Yes, a Gundam. He had never thought that something he had seen in the movies would one day be witnessed by his own eyes.

The arms of the Gundam were mounted with rocket launchers, which, on rough estimate, each had calibers over 30 meters. A Gundam of such colossal stature likely didn't rely on the rocket launchers as a primary mode of attack; they were probably just for show, like fireworks.

Are these people... Are they all Gods and Demons?