Chapter 037 Christmas Eve Will Never Come
The rapid drop in SAN value caused Rong Le to fall into a short-term negative state. KP automatically rolled the dice, and the random negative symptom was [Rage].
The noise in the church attracted the search of believers, but fortunately the two sides did not meet, which prevented Rong Le from losing her mind and taking action, which would lead to a decline in her acting skills.
He looked at the sky that was gradually darkening in the distance. Dark clouds covered the sky above the town, and the heavy pressure above the cliff was particularly strong, which made people feel terrified just by looking at it.
“…Assorted?”
Rong Le suddenly stopped and said uncertainly.
In front, Shijin stood there quietly. He was wearing white clothes, and in this dark and cold sky, he even had a pure white halo, which made him look more ethereal.
But Rong Le remembered clearly that he was already dead.
Even though he did not attend the funeral, the weight of this surprise was real as a gift from the so-called society.
Judging from the pagans' way of doing things, Rong Le knew that they would not leave any wiggle room on this issue.
Shijin didn't move, but maintained the posture of protecting something, with an unprecedented calmness between his brows.
At this moment, his beauty was truly revealed in the church without reservation. The gentle beauty of the beauty was so breathtaking at this moment. He slightly turned his eyes and looked at Rong Le with a faint smile.
"Where are you doing?"
Shijin didn't answer, but moved to the side, so Rong Le could see the whole picture.
It turned out to be a piece of broken soil with a rose in full bloom growing on it. Perhaps the monster rushed into the flower bed and destroyed it during the riot. The other flowers had fallen to the ground and were trampled into a mess. Only this rose was preserved intact.
It seems that through it, one can vaguely see the once peaceful life of the small town.
Rong Le: "Do you like flowers?"
It’s not surprising that the beauty likes flowers, but he didn’t go to the funeral. I wonder if anyone brought him his favorite flowers. I guess no one did.
After all, no one brings fiery roses to a funeral.
He looked up at the sky and said, "No matter what you are, a soul or an illusion, I will assume that you like roses. If I have the chance and I am still alive, I will give you a bouquet of roses."
"... Consider it my belated condolences."
…
There are too many monsters.
At this time, the battlefield below the cliff was in a mess, as if a storm had passed through it. However, even so, the fighting here was still going on.
The University of Michigan investigation team had already destroyed most of the formations they could find, but due to the foundation accumulated by the church over the years, countless residents had been quietly transformed into monsters.
These monsters appear in human form during the day, but at night they transform into another form, becoming monsters that hunt humans.
"No, there are too many monsters, I can't hold on!"
Bai Yang said while panting after killing another monster that pounced on him.
Next to him was Liu Guangye. He and the rest of the investigation team were withstanding the pressure on the front line. They fought frantically, covering the entire land with corpses. Light green blood splattered on the ground, mixed with human red blood, filling the ground with a sense of grotesqueness.
They could only let Fairlight and Orianna carry out their plan on the cliff. Countless monsters obeyed the call and rushed towards this direction.
They can only try their best to hold on to the only way to survive, hoping for a glimmer of hope in this desperate situation.
The injured members retreated from the front line, and their teammates immediately filled the gap. In the central open space firmly guarded by the investigation team, the weak logistics quickly provided first aid to the wounded.
In this highly tense environment, Xu Yuanhe gradually became more agile from being flustered at the beginning.
Originally, he could only assist the team doctor, but now he can handle bloody skin injuries with precise movements.
It is impossible for him not to panic in this situation, but the module has been developed to this extent. Even if it is not here at Michigan University, there is no place that is absolutely safe.
He didn't even have time to worry about his own fate. He had been numbed by this cruel scene, and the only thing on his mind was saving the wounded in front of him.
He couldn't control the outcome of the battle and could only hope that the young man would show up soon.
I don’t know when it started, but Xu Yuanhe also began to blindly trust Rong Le. He was infected by the members of the Michigan University around him and believed that the person could definitely do these seemingly impossible things.
At the outermost position of the encirclement, Liu Guangye exchanged injuries for injuries and killed two obviously evolved monsters in a very dangerous way. He barely stood firm, groaned, and rejected the suggestion of his teammates next to him to go down and rest.
He gripped the weapon tightly. The faint enchanted array on it emitted a faint glow, and the cold and hard handle gave off a familiar texture.
His mission and his destination were already known from the moment he grasped the weapon.
Perhaps this is where he is destined to die.
He raised his eyes and looked at the waves of monsters that seemed to be endless, with a resolute expression and bright eyes.
"Everyone—follow the truth and advance in silence. I will go ahead!"
Liu Guangye took a step forward and rushed into the pile of monsters!
This sentence boosted everyone's morale, and everyone's originally depressed state became more excited again.
"Follow the truth and move forward in silence!"
"We fight for freedom, we fight for humanity, we fight for war!"
The Michigan University investigation team growled, each one of them like a human weapon under the increasingly dark sky.
Xu Yuanhe stared at it in a daze, as if his heart was hit hard by something.
The sky grew darker and darker, and night fell unknowingly.
Rong Le ran quickly on the long street, and the air seemed to be slightly cool with her breath.
He held the wooden box tightly in his arms.
Rong Le's mind had never been as clear as it was at this moment. He knew that in order to check and balance the current Fairlight, there must be something he was missing.
[World Line Tampering Degree: 65%]
It is known that prying key nodes can increase the degree of world line tampering, and the increase in tampering is a necessary factor for passing the module.
Judging from the current situation, the ceremony held in Fairlight is bound to happen at a certain time point. If the direction of this time point can be changed, it will have a huge impact on the world line.
There is still time, there must be still time.
Rong Le tried hard to swallow the fishy sweetness in her throat caused by the intense running, and ran towards the top of the storm without hesitation.
*
It's late at night.
There is an observatory at the highest point of the library, which is the best and highest place in the town. The boss and Said stand here, looking at the undercurrent of the town below.
The night was as cold as water. Said looked towards the cliff in the distance. From this angle, he could vaguely see the tragic scene there.
"Boss, aren't we going to help?"
Boss: "We can't help much. The final outcome of this battle depends on how far that guy can go."
He also stared in that direction and murmured, "Side, do you know? This world may be a huge cage."
Said thought about it and shook his head: "I don't understand."
"I didn't understand it before, but as that person persisted in his persistence time and time again, I seemed to understand something."
"I've been thinking about how to make linear time go back and forth, and how to change the inevitable time point... and how lonely it would be to stand in the long river of time."
The man's usually lazy black eyes were now exceptionally clear. He stared down and seemed to see the young man running with all his might.
"The people in the cage repeat their actions according to a predetermined trajectory. When an outlier appears and disrupts this situation, a subtle deviation occurs. The correction of the world is indeed very subtle, but..."
“There is no absolutely perfect correction, and deviations always exist.”
The boss looked at the dark night outside. Under the cover of this thick darkness, countless dirty things were stirring.
Said thought about what he said and said: "Why do some people always choose to take this road even though they know it is a long and bleak one?"
Just like now, the persistence of the people of Michigan may be just a futile struggle in the face of the desperate fact that is bound to come.
"Because some people's souls are born like bright lights."
The young man's dark green eyes were cold and firm, like a frozen lake, emitting a gem-like luster.
He ran quickly along the dim corridor, shuttling through every corridor, hoping to find the key to victory.
The feelings that had been cold for a long time seemed to be warmed up again because of the current situation. He was not alone.
These mods... don't seem that bad.
The boss's voice was like a deep sigh: "In His eyes, humans are meaningless. Only brilliant souls are worthy of His favor. To obtain this purity, He will do everything He can to hone them and make them more perfect."
Rong Le opened the door of one room after another and left again and again. Dark clouds had already covered the sky above Portland, and disaster seemed inevitable.
"But this world is not entirely without merit. Many more people are born like gray iron stones."
Mi Da and others were almost exhausted, and wherever they looked on the battlefield, there was a tragic scene.
Tina swung her long knife, and a string of bright red beads dripped from the tip of the knife. He walked over slowly, held Thor's hand, and pulled him up.
"Through constant polishing, they are able to sense each other's magnetic pull and come together to form a force far greater than their own."
Amidst the battle-ravaged streets and the desolate cold moon, an indescribable god gradually began to awaken.
The stars are moving slowly, and more figures are walking in the darkness with fatigue and determination.
"Mutual attraction and mutual restraint are the beautiful bonds that belong only to human beings, and miracles are born from this."
Orianna let out a scream and lay in the middle of the altar on the cliff. With her as the center, the huge and complex formation emitted a bright halo of light.
All kinds of strange bulges kept appearing on her belly, as if something was eager to come out.
The girl's hair was disheveled, and her usually delicate appearance now looked a little disheveled, but she completely ignored the strange condition of her body and laughed wildly, tears streaming from the corners of her eyes, and an expression of pain and joy was intricately intertwined on her face.
At this moment, she was like a blooming flower, filled with the beauty of dying despair.
Fairlight: "That's the end of it."
He stood aside, looking up at the inky black sky. Christmas Eve would be here soon. It should have been a lively and warm night, a holiday with beautiful meanings, but Polant could no longer wait until that time.
This is the end of Portland.
Light snow began to fall from the sky. The tiny snowflakes fell silently to the ground, then slowly soaked it. More snowflakes floated in the air, indicating the coldness and loneliness of the moment.
Harry walked out of the darkness and no one stopped him because everything was a foregone conclusion.
The society and the church have always refrained from interfering with each other and maintained a false peace. The society and others are ready to evacuate Portland. Harry temporarily changes his route and wants to see Orianna for the last time.
He saw the girl on the stone platform at a glance.
Orianna's life force was being rapidly sucked away by the formation beneath her. She was rapidly losing weight and groaning intermittently from the pain.
Harry looked at the disheveled appearance of the girl, whose frail body seemed unable to bear any weight, and felt as if his heart was hit hard by something.
He suddenly couldn't keep his distance anymore.
...Oli, such a lovely and lively girl, such a beautiful and bright girl, should have been basking in the sunshine and enjoying the flowers and praises, instead of lying in the cold and messy soil, waiting for the moment of her life to wither away.
Did he do something wrong?
If he had intervened further in Orianna's life, perhaps she would not have met such an ending.
If he had stopped maintaining that arrogant attitude and taken full control of the girl's life when he discovered her tragic fate, would she not be lying here like a flower about to wither?
The gentleman took off his hat, walked carefully to Orianna, and gently placed his gloved hand on her cheek.
"Oli," he whispered, "Come with me."
A faint warmth emanated from her palm. The girl slowly opened her eyes and glanced at him wearily. Her emerald eyes dimmed, and then she ignored him coldly.
She is very tired.
Cohen was well taken care of by her and would never see her ugly side.
Although I couldn't see him at the last moment of his life, it was enough.
The meaning of her existence was to be a sacrifice, and as for the ending, she no longer had the energy to watch it.
Long-term fatigue swept over the girl's body and mind. Harry could feel the vitality of the person in front of him was rapidly draining away. He stroked her face in a daze, looking at the large amount of blood spreading out from under her body.
The huge amount of bleeding was almost fatal. Harry remained squatting, frozen in place.
The voices of his companions were heard not far away, calling him back.
But he couldn't move.
...He still remembered the first time they met, when he returned here from the Eastern War Zone in a mess.
He originally wanted to spend some peaceful time in this remote town to heal his wounds, but by chance he met the girl as beautiful as a flower on the street corner.
The sunlight shone on her golden hair, and he was captivated by her bright smile. From then on, his whole heart remained in this small town.
The way she laughed, the way she got angry, the expression on her face when she was being naughty, the look of forbearance... Harry suddenly realized that he remembered all of this so clearly.
Harry suddenly started laughing, and the laughter grew louder and louder, and gradually turned into a low sob.
——He was never Orianna's savior, he was no different from anyone else.
The girl faced the cruel reality with fearlessness, and no one tried to save her, including himself.
All people care about is her appearance.
Reality once again dealt a heavy blow to his arrogance, making him realize his feelings at a point of no return.
"I'm sorry... If this is God's punishment for me, then this must be the most terrible nightmare of my life."
He said with a sigh.
...The snow is falling heavier.
Rong Le's figure finally appeared in front of everyone.
The moment he saw him, Xu Yuanhe was almost moved to tears. The others were not as exaggerated as him, but their expressions were also full of excitement.
The young man looked a little haggard, which made his dark green eyes look even more deep and moving. His overly long hair was messily draped over his shoulders and ears. His lips were pale and bloodless, but his eyes were surprisingly bright.
The barrage of comments brought tears to my eyes:
"Wow wow wow, that kid is stumbling over here, his sanity is about to be wiped out, and he's still holding that damn thing."
"Why are you all in such a miserable state? Are your injuries serious?"
"Clearing the module is too difficult. I finally understand why the minimum requirement for pioneers is to make it out alive..."
"I don't want anyone to die..."
Rong Le: "Is everyone okay?"
Tina pulled Liu Guangye out of the pile of monsters with an expressionless face. He was being pulled by the collar with his head hanging down, his face covered in blood, and his life or death was unknown.
Tina blinked, blood stains on her fair face: "Everything is fine."
There was no extra time for them to talk. Rong Le thought for a few seconds and threw the box in her arms to Thor: "Keep it safe."
"Huh? Yes..." Thor caught the box in a hurry.
The second after Rong Le let go of the wooden box, the system prompt sounded:
【The sanity judgment rule ends.】
[Current SAN value: 51.]
Rong Le breathed a sigh of relief and warned Thor that if he felt mentally unwell, he should send someone in better condition to take it.
Thor's mental toughness is ridiculous, and he may be able to resist mental judgment. The things in the wooden box can be handed over. Thor, who is also a teammate, is a good choice.
He has more important things to do now.
Rong Le's eyes swept over everyone. Liu Guangye hung his head, his life or death unknown. Bai Yang was almost exhausted and was unsteady on his feet while supporting his teammates. Tina was covered in scars but still had no expression on her face. Everyone was injured to varying degrees and looked disheveled, but they all endured in silence.
His gaze finally fell on Xu Yuanhe.
The young man stood there somewhat bewildered. Compared to the group of evil spirits, he looked as innocent and pitiful as a lamb that had strayed in. It seemed that he could not accept all this.
He sighed softly: "Really, now is not a good time to talk."
In the current situation, he simply didn't have time to fool the player who was sent to approach him.
Rong Le thought with emotion.
“???”
"Wait, what does he mean by that?"
"Is this the person sent by the authorities?!"
"When did Rongrong find out? Even we didn't notice it?"
The comments were extremely surprised.
Xu Yuanhe opened his mouth in disbelief.
But Rong Le still didn't give him a chance to speak. She waved to them and walked towards the top.
A huge whirlpool appeared above the cliff at some point.
This vortex is so deep that it is unimaginable. Just looking at it from afar makes people feel terrified. It seems to have swallowed up the sky and turned the world into a huge black hole.
At this moment, it was facing the magic circle below.
When Rong Le arrived at the center of the vortex, the sky was pitch black, almost covering the moonlight. The wind blew up his coat, and the man's expression was unclear in the darkness.
Fairlight was wearing the bishop's robe required for the ceremony, and behind him were a dozen believers wearing robes whose faces could not be seen. They surrounded the magic circle, holding books and chanting something in a low voice.
In the center of the magic circle, the blonde girl lay quietly on the stone platform, her expression peaceful and pious as if she was offering a sacrifice.
The sky began to churn violently at some point, dark clouds moved slowly like pitch-black waves, the moonlight was shrouded by the clouds, and only the stars were clearly visible.
Rong Le stared at Fairlight and whispered, "Is this what you want?"
Fairlight: "There's no point in saying this now. I'm doomed to do this."
He looked back and said calmly: "I told you to leave here, but it's too late now. You can only stay here and fall into hell with me."
If nothing had changed, that's how it should have been.
As the dark clouds slowly moved away, the light fell here again.
Rong Le looked at the huge figure gradually gathering in the vortex above the sky, and said in a hoarse voice: "But you are not summoning the offspring of the evil god."
"...You summoned an evil god."
The barrage exploded instantly.
"What?!!"
"Is Fairlight crazy?! If the offspring of the evil god might be driven by the followers who summoned him, then no one will survive the evil god's arrival! He wants to drag everyone down with him!"
Fairlight chuckled softly. At this moment, his smile was surprisingly gentle. "I can't hide it from you."
Rong Le: "You are not doing this out of your duty as the Bishop. You, like Orianna, want to destroy Polant."
He asked somewhat puzzledly: "How much of a shadow has Beatrice cast on you?"
Fairlight narrowed his eyes slightly, as if recalling something. "My life hasn't been very interesting. I don't hate this place very much."
"I just...just want more."
Fairlight raised his noble, untouched face and stated, "Actually, my life under Beatrice wasn't difficult. I was very useful, and no believer dared to bully me. Compared to those poor little people, I was doing quite well."
He smiled, as if remembering something, and continued, "It's just that one day, I had a beautiful dream."
Rong Le tilted her head expressionlessly, expressing her confusion and motioning him to continue.
"I saw myself standing above thousands of people, wearing the Pope's vestments. I saw myself holding a scepter, standing high on the steps, and the people below saluted me..."
"And the person I wanted finally stayed by my side and will be with me forever."
...It is indeed a beautiful dream.
But he didn't expect that in the end it was Fairlight's desire that led to everything. He undoubtedly had extremely high talent and brains, enough to match his ambition.
Rong Le: "You knew it a long time ago, didn't you?"
This sentence did not reach Fairlight's ears because Rong Le was communicating with someone else.
KP chuckled softly, "I don't understand what you're talking about."
Rong Le's expression was slightly cold.
Even if he was infinitely close to that inhuman threshold, he could not compete with the evil god. He could faintly feel the breath born from the vortex, which was indeed the oppression of a god.
Everything came to its destined end.
The world line cannot be changed. Fairlight is destined to succeed, Portland will sink, the evil god will be born from Orianna's body, and the entire module will end in destruction.
He looked back at the few remaining people in the crowd below, and his heart seemed to be squeezed into a ball by an invisible big hand.
He lowered his head indifferently, covering his chest, wondering strangely, could it be that his heart was also hurt?
They have tried their best to save the situation, but even if they give everything, it will be in vain in the face of the predetermined outcome.
The established facts make people feel so powerless, like mountains that can never be crossed, seas that can never be conquered, and the gap like a chasm that makes mortals hesitate.
Rong Le stared at the sky, where a terrifying existence was gathering. When it descended, the entire Portland would be reduced to nothing.
"I don't want to lose," he said.
The cold blood flowed through the body, and even the fingers were chilled.
The monsters stopped attacking at some point, and the people of Michigan watched them gradually retreat.
Their purpose of entangling them has been achieved.
Worried that Rong Le would be in danger up there alone, Tina wanted to go up despite her injuries, and other people from the University of Michigan also insisted on going up.
The professor of occult studies, who had just come up and witnessed the ceremony up close, exclaimed, "Is this... summoning an evil god?!"
The news was so shocking that everyone was speechless.
Events that could be related to the evil god were always above grade A, and were horrific disasters that attracted worldwide attention. Just relying on these people, they were simply unable to drive the evil god back to his homeland.
Tina's face changed, and she took a few steps forward to try to destroy the formation, but was surrounded by the believers around the formation.
Rong Le stood there quietly, as if she had accepted this reality.
The ceremony went smoothly, and Orianna completely lost her life force. She had a faint smile on her face before she died.
The light of the formation suddenly became brighter, and everyone couldn't help but avoid the dazzling light. It was not until the light gradually weakened that everyone slowly opened their eyes.
What appeared before everyone's eyes was a horrifying scene.
A huge, silent, indescribable monster gradually emerged from the fog. Its figure could not be described in words. Just seeing a vague shape was enough to make people feel fear from the bottom of their hearts.
He is beyond human common sense and even the slightest attempt to comprehend His existence can bring about terrible spiritual pollution to the people.
Even the believers who were holding the ceremony groaned in pain at this moment.
“Don’t try to understand Him!”
The people of Mizhong reacted quickly and lowered their heads to avoid looking at the sky. Even so, the huge figure was engraved in their minds.
The barrage of comments filled the entire screen with a strong desire to survive.
Only Fairlight stood at the highest point, looking up at the real god he had summoned in the sky.
He whispered, "...This is the god I seek."
Fairlight's tone was calm, but this calmness was so unreasonable at this moment. If you listened carefully, you could faintly feel the fanaticism in his words.
"My great master, you changed my destiny and listened to my prayers. I know what you need, just as you know me."
"I will be your most loyal servant, willing to be driven by you forever, and I will devote my soul, my love, and everything I have to you."
He looked at the gods in the sky, his tone so sincere and humble.
He even had a smile on his face, a smile without desire or fanaticism, but absolutely honest and pure, with even some divinity in his eyes.
"...You will have mercy on me, right?"
The god stood silently in the fog, without any response.
Rong Le was very familiar with this scene.
The long-lost nausea and fear surged into his throat. He trembled slightly and even wanted to dig out the beating heart in his chest.
The ending was almost destined and could never be changed. It was as if the gods were deliberately playing tricks on him, trying to destroy the scene deliberately created by his spirit and reason.
Rong Le had a splitting headache. He knew that it was the frequent mental judgments he had made along the way that had brought his mind to the brink of danger.
Even so, he still let out a low laugh at this moment.
It doesn’t matter, just destroy them all.
When everyone heard the sound and looked over, they found that Rong Le's behavior seemed to be no different from being crazy.
When he put the gun to his temples, he still had a crazy smile on his face, and his dark green eyes contained deep and indistinguishable emotions.
"Hey—can you please pay a little attention to me? After all, I'm going to die soon."
"...Mr. Rong Le?!" "Teacher!"
After hearing what Rong Le said, everyone let out a low cry.
Fairlight also turned his gaze away from the god.
He had a strange smile on his face, his eyes incredibly gentle, and he whispered, "Don't try to stop me anymore. This is a foregone conclusion."
“…”
That’s right, the direction of the world line can no longer be changed at this point, and Rong Le has completely understood it.
Perhaps from the moment he was killed by Baiyue at sea and time went back, the world line he was in would usher in an ending where Fairlight was destined to succeed.
In this world line, he is destined to fail. This is an inevitable and unchangeable time point.
If you want to change all this, you must go back to an earlier time point.
At this moment, Rong Le finally understood what KP said in his ear when he first used his talent.
【You will cross the long river of time and arrive at where you want to go. 】
【But please note that unlimited abuse of this power will lead to irreversible consequences. 】
He is the only absolute observer who can freely cross countless world lines.
As long as he can keep jumping world lines, he can definitely change this destined ending.
Every action he takes will bring about unpredictable and huge changes in the future.
His only goal now is to change Fairlight's destined outcome of success.
Rong Le turned around and looked at everyone with different expressions: "Don't worry, I will lead everyone to victory."
"No one of us can be left behind, and to hell with that damn death quota."
"It's rare to be trusted by so many people... I don't want to disappoint everyone's expectations."
The young man smiled, the evening breeze gently blew his hair, and the hair that was casually tied up on his shoulders also raised a slight arc, and his eyes were somewhat gentle.
"...Let us meet again in the next reincarnation."
Bang!
…
"Time Travel".
Rong Le's innate skill that allows him to jump world lines and play with time comes at the cost of his death as the triggering condition.
This is his trump card, which he will only use when the situation is irreversible.
He absolutely wanted to change Fairlight's destined outcome to a successful one, to a future where no one would be sacrificed.
...Before this, all failures were necessary and would soon be covered up.
Rong Le's consciousness gradually sank into the darkness, sinking... sinking... until he saw a door.
As if it was independent in the sea of his subconscious, emitting a constant white halo, the door was carved with strange patterns that could not be looked at directly and could not be understood, as if it led to a mysterious unknown.
KP's voice sounded softly in my ears, like an intoxicating dream.
[Talent skill "Time and Space Rewind" has taken effect.]
【You are dead.】
【Do you want to use your talent skill? 】
He stepped through the door.
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