Chapter 54 The Liquidator's Cafe
You'll be leaving the current instance in 7 days.
After getting off the double-decker bus, there were several clear nights in a row without any fog.
You are very concerned about the pink hair, the backpack, and what their "phone friends" really mean, and you are even more concerned about what Aunt Li Mei said about social workers.
Murder will be punished; this is something everyone, even those who are ignorant of the law, should know.
But that's in modern civilized society.
The place we are in now is more benevolent than even a primitive, savage jungle.
You think you're a really, really good person. But you've also "killed" someone. If you didn't kill her, you would have died. And then later... you realize that killing can gradually lead to desensitization.
It's also possible that everyone in this instance will gradually grow a thorny tree deep within their soul, spreading recklessly.
You wrapped the thin blanket tighter around yourself, and in the darkness, your eyes shone brightly, moistened by the light outside the window.
*Smack*
Close the blinds.
morning.
You've finally stopped having nightmares, your sleep schedule is better, and you feel pretty good today. It was a little chilly this morning, so you put on a light jacket, took a taxi, and headed to that trendy cafe that's been all the rage lately.
—Because the rules of this store can be found by simply looking through their social media accounts.
1. Customers are not allowed to cut in line.
2. After ordering, you must pick up your food at the designated pick-up area.
3. Each customer may only occupy one table. Occupying too many seats or changing seats at will is prohibited.
These are all very ordinary rules.
You arrived a bit early, sitting on a chair outside the shop, holding your phone and glancing at the time on the screen every now and then. Xiaoming just returned from Ireland and promised to meet with you to discuss some important matters. She's usually punctual, but today is an exception.
Just as you were about to send another message, she spotted you from afar and waved to you.
"Sorry I'm late," she said, taking off her scarf and affectionately taking your hand.
"You're not late, I'm just too early." You stand up, take her hand, and head into the store.
"Why don't you go inside and order something while you wait for me? It must be a bit cold sitting outside," she asked.
"I'll save it for us to order together," you replied with a smile. "What would you like to drink? It's on me."
“Okay.” She nodded. “But I’m not particular about these things. I get goosebumps every time I see the names of drinks at these trendy cafes. I just can’t bring myself to say them. I’ll just order a latte.”
You walk together toward the counter. The line isn't long, and the customers are orderly. Everyone seems to know the rules here.
"How's it going in Ireland?" you asked.
"Yeah, it's not bad, every day is sunny." Xiaoming sighed. "It's just that the work over there is a bit troublesome. Meetings all day long, my head is about to explode. Can you imagine dealing with devilish colleagues while also trying to avoid making mistakes because you can't understand their accents?"
"You've worked hard." You patted Xiaoming on the shoulder. "At least things will be a little easier when you get back to London."
"Not necessarily." Xiao Ming pursed his lips. "By the way, why did you call me over in such a hurry?"
"Have some coffee first, we can chat later." You changed the subject, your gaze falling on the counter.
Soon, it was your turn to order. You expertly announced your choices: "Matcha coconut lemon iced coffee, no ice, meaning absolutely no ice—well, less ice is fine, just extra syrup. And a latte." You rattled off the long list of names, and Xiao Ming chuckled and joked with you, "Your babbling is getting better and better."
"Sigh, I'm just studying every day." You flicked a non-existent strand of hair, looking smug.
The waiter smiled, confirmed the order, and handed you a pickup number. You glanced down at the number—21.
After waiting in the waiting area for a while, the waiter called your number. You walked to the food pick-up area one after the other and each picked up your drink. You looked around and found that the window seats were all occupied, with only a few empty tables in the middle area.
"Where should I sit?" you ask.
"Let's go there, the lighting is pretty good." Xiaoming pointed to a table near the bookshelf.
You chose that table and sat down. Xiaoming carefully placed the latte on the table, then took out a bag of cookies and handed it to you: "I brought these back especially for you, have a taste."
"Thank you." You took it, unwrapped it, took a piece and tasted it. "It tastes good. Is it a specialty of Ireland?"
"Yeah, I bought it at the market, from a pretty famous shop," Xiaoming said. "What about you? What's going on lately? You've been acting all mysterious."
After swallowing the last bite of the cookie, you asked bluntly, "Can you tell me what happened?"
Xiao Ming paused for a moment, tilted his head to look at you, a puzzled smile on his lips: "What do you want to know?"
You recounted everything that happened on the bus in great detail. Xiao Ming's smile gradually faded.
“Li Mei mentioned social workers and police officers, but I never felt that the police in the game had any purpose,” you said.
Xiao Ming took a sip of coffee and cleared his throat: "The Purger."
"What?"
“Those aren’t police officers; we call them liquidators,” Xiaoming said.
“The liquidator.” You repeated the word, “Who gave it that name? Whom are they liquidating? For whom are they liquidating?” You grasped the key.
Xiao Ming suddenly laughed again, lightly tapping your head with his fist: "Don't be so serious, this is just a name that many of us veterans have come up with based on the increasing variety of dungeon appearances. Saying it's the Purifier..." Xiao Ming clicked his tongue, "...it's not necessarily a matter of who's purging whom."
"Okay, Xiaoming, hurry up and tell me, stop keeping me in suspense." You sighed. "Are these so-called liquidators human? Or are they copies of each other? Are they something like law enforcers?"
"What do you think the purpose of the rules for dungeons is?" Xiaoming suddenly asked.
"Don't laugh at me if I tell you my thoughts," you said, quite seriously. "I still feel that the original intention of the rules is to protect us. Otherwise, wouldn't it be better to just kill us? The danger lies with the instance itself, while the rules are meant to balance the existence of us outsiders and the instance?"
Xiao Ming chuckled softly, his gaze deep: "Thinking that way is fine. But many people—including myself—believe that their existence is simply to make the game more 'fun'."
"Interesting?" You frowned. "What do you mean?"
“The copy is a ‘stage,’ and all the rules, the liquidators, the servants—the social workers Li Mei mentioned, and any ordinary outsider—are actors on this stage.” Xiaoming’s tone was tinged with indifference. “And behind the stage, there is an entity that controls everything. We call it the ‘copy consciousness.’”
"Duplicate consciousness...?" you repeated blankly.
“He has no physical form, no shape, and doesn’t even need to make direct contact with us,” Xiao Ming said in a low voice. “His purpose is simple—to harvest souls. All the rules are designed to achieve this goal.”
"I had already guessed that." You weren't surprised.
“Yes.” Xiao Ming nodded. “Whether we are killed by the rules or by fighting and killing each other, the final result is the annihilation of the soul. Only the gladiator who wins can escape. And the dungeon consciousness takes pleasure in this.”
"Perhaps the concept of 'copy consciousness' doesn't objectively exist, but that's the logic behind its operation. Just like when someone writes a novel, they have their own theme, and everything revolves around that," Xiaoming added.
"What about the killers?" You didn't want to discuss the issue of the copy consciousness. It was already such a bizarre society, nothing was surprising anymore. And after the cycle of fate on the cruise ship, you... never mind, stop talking about it. You continued to focus on the more meaningful topics. "Why did Li Mei and the others become service members, while the other killers could live like ordinary people? I mean, we..." You lowered your head.
“As long as you kill someone, your soul will be marked, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be captured and become a servant. It’s part of the copy; it’s a trace of cause and effect that can’t be erased,” Xiaoming explained with a sneer. “But the copy consciousness doesn’t care about the killer’s morality; in fact, it favors killers because they make the game more complex and interesting.”
"How can you show favoritism?" You were a little incredulous.
“Killers often receive some ‘extra help’ in the rules,” Xiaoming chuckled. “For example, lucky items at crucial moments, a momentary spark of inspiration, or causing the liquidators to misjudge their identities. The instance consciousness loves chaos, and killers are the best disruptors.”
Xiao Ming winked at you: "Old hand, there's no such thing as not killing. You can't survive without killing. Because the purpose of the dungeon is for everyone to kill each other, even though it's gentle and has never encouraged any violence."
That look in her eyes was a little unsettling, so you quickly gave her a nudge to make her behave. Xiao Ming smiled and returned to his gentle demeanor.
"Then why do the liquidators still want to arrest the murderers?" You asked knowingly. You only wanted to hear the news from Xiaoming, and didn't want to use your own brain to think about these things that you felt might change your life drastically even after you left the instance.
"Because the liquidators will make these things more interesting."
Xiao Ming's expression turned slightly serious: "The Licensors are among the few people in the instance with special privileges. They can sense soul imprints and lock onto targets through probing and hints, but they are also ordinary people."
"An ordinary person?" You were somewhat surprised.
“Yes.” Xiaoming nodded. “The liquidators are not some high and mighty beings. They are just people who have accepted the identity of liquidators and then made some kind of exchange in the instance. The price they pay is that they must serve the rules of the instance.”
"Then what is their purpose in arresting the murderer? Is there any punishment involved?"
"Their condition for leaving should be the capture of a certain number of inmates," Xiaoming said. "But just like everyone has their own life script, not everyone is randomly chosen to be a purge. If you've ever talked to them, you'll find that they have no mercy. They don't care if you kill someone by mistake or in self-defense; they only follow their own moral code, and even in a perverted world, they want everyone to be a saint."
It was rare to see Xiaoming so excited, so you quietly slipped a cookie into her hand, which made her burst out laughing instantly.
"In short, most liquidators believe they are making the instance 'more orderly,' thinking they are acting on behalf of God." Xiaoming sneered. "But order does not mean goodness. The existence of liquidators only makes the rules more efficient, ultimately serving the instance consciousness, but the instance consciousness has never been a good thing."
"Then, what's the difference between the captured service members, who also serve the copy consciousness, and the liquidators?" you ask.
“Servants are failures of the rules, 'slaves' forced to obey at a lower level,” Xiaoming explained. “They have to complete the tasks assigned by the rules, such as being a 'ticket inspector' as you mentioned. They become a kind of NPC role in a dungeon, losing their freedom. Sometimes they just cause trouble for the local dungeon inhabitants, and sometimes they have to cause trouble for us. Only by serving their full term can they gain freedom. Of course, most people are like Li Mei. They will continue to serve until their souls are exhausted or they are directly devoured.”
Hearing this, a chill ran through you.
You don't want to become a conscript.
But do you still have a choice?
"You know too much about these things," you said in a low voice. Perhaps to vent your frustration, you couldn't help but stare intently at Xiaoming. "Why?" Why didn't you ever say anything before?
Xiao Ming was silent for a while, then sighed softly: "Because I have been evading the Pursuers' pursuit."
Your heart skipped a beat: "What?"
“I have long been branded with the mark on my soul, and,” Xiaoming looked up at you, his fingertips tracing his brow, “and I am utterly wicked.”
"You're so smart, can't you see it?"
You remained silent for a long while before asking, "So why didn't the liquidators catch you?"
“Because the consciousness of the instance favors me,” Xiao Ming said calmly. “It has given me enough protection to prevent the Purifiers from easily discovering my soul imprint. Of course, this does not mean I am safe. The Purifiers will find me sooner or later, and I will not let them catch me.”
"What if the liquidators come?" you ask.
“Then kill them,” Xiao Ming laughed. “Remember, the rules aren’t for fairness, they’re for reaping. Survival is victory.”
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Author's Note: Ha! Ha! Ha! Tiger is furiously writing the next chapter, but he might also doze off in the middle... Good afternoon!
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