The hole in the ground disappeared, and the elevator transported them back to the original place. The last three-dimensional square was placed into the groove, and the platform in the middle slowly rose.
A smooth tabletop reflects a dark mirror, but when people get close to it, they can't make out the shape of the mirror. It looks like a dark, shiny stone.
From here, one can enter the last floor. Yu Qing's brows turned slightly cold, and he said to the two people behind him: "Wait for me here."
"good."
Qin Zhi and Yin Yusheng didn't raise any objections. She had her own reasons for saying that, and if they followed her, they might even hinder her.
The little zombie was left behind to take care of the two, while Yu Qing went to the last level through the mirror alone.
It was a deserted place with yellow sand all around.
Yu Qing walked for a long time before he saw a stone coffin on a desert mountain. It was narrow at the top and bottom and wide in the middle, about the size of an adult.
She didn't go over immediately, as if she was waiting for something. The next second -
"Are you all ready?"
"Yes, they are all family members of the people in charge of this ceremony. It won't be spread out."
"Well, remember to be quick with your hands and feet." The strangely dressed old man stood on a high altar with a scepter in his hand.
Next to him was a relatively young man who responded and then turned and left.
The old man hesitated and stood there for a while before walking away slowly.
It was daytime and the sun was still hanging in the sky. Time reversed and soon it was dark again. Yu Qing was like a bystander watching the sky change constantly until it stopped at night.
A dozen young-looking men and women were tied up, and several burly men took them to the altar, where several sarcophagi that had been prepared in advance were placed.
There were lit torches all around, and many people in white clothes with their heads covered seemed to be praying devoutly for something, which was a bit weird.
The scene was quiet for a while. Everyone was frightened and panicked, their bodies trembling, their faces covered with tears. Occasionally, a few people wanted to speak but couldn't make a sound.
Yu Qing was standing right next to the old man at this moment. She couldn't walk too far, nor could she touch the person here. She just leaped over him like a soul touching a human.
It seemed that she could only follow the plot that the owner of the sarcophagus was prepared to allow her to watch.
I don’t know how long it took, but the initial ceremony was over. The old man stood at the highest point holding the scepter, looked up at the sky, and laughed at himself.
"For our homeland, for that infinite oasis, your sacrifice is worth it. We will never forget, and we will remember all the heroes—"
After the old man said some heartfelt words, he waved his hand and ordered people to carry the offerings up. There were more than ten sarcophagi in the direction of his finger.
The people below turned their backs one after another. The scene that followed was truly bloody...
Everyone knows that the dead can be mummified, but mummifying a living person is a hundred or even a thousand times more painful than being cut into pieces.
The internal organs were removed alive, the blood was drained, and then they were sewn back together... wrapped in white mummified cloth, and finally sealed in a sarcophagus.
At this point, the picture flickered again, showing the same venue, but with fewer people.
Only the old man was left standing alone at the highest point, gazing up at the sky with sorrowful eyes.
He suddenly threw away the scepter and sat on the ground, disregarding the demeanor he had always valued so much.
"Hahaha--"
"It's fake!! It's all fake!! This is karma, hahahaha... There's no Infinite Oasis..."
"Infinite Oasis——"
…
…
"You've seen it all, what do you think?"
A gentle voice came faintly from the void, which did not sound like a machine or a human. It was very calm, as if it looked down upon life and death and was detached from the world.
Yu Qing slowly raised her eyes. The sarcophagus was still in front of her. She had come out of her memory environment. The last scene before she came out was frozen at the moment when the old man committed suicide.
"Cause and effect, I have nothing to say."
“…”
Perhaps because her words made people feel at a loss for words, the voice remained silent for a long time before continuing, "As you said, karma."
Yu Qing asked: "Then why are you killing people now?"
The other party did not answer her question, but instead continued to talk to himself: "If we had been a little better to our homeland, we wouldn't have been punished like this."
"Unfortunately, the most expensive thing in the world is the word 'if'."
"Back then, we were greedy and demanded endlessly from our home, just like naughty children who didn't understand their mothers. We were selfish and self-serving."
"We were excited, building shelters, asking for food and water... But we forgot that even with the deepest love, a mother will eventually collapse from exhaustion. So, punishment arrived. All the water and food were taken away, and yellow sand... yellow sand filled the sky..."
"We long for our mother's forgiveness, but she won't forgive us. The infinite oasis may never have existed. The desert cannot save itself..."
Later, the sound became weaker and weaker until it disappeared completely, and the sarcophagus turned into yellow sand and merged into the desert.
They have paid their lives and the most painful price as a sign of sincerity, in order to gain their mother's forgiveness, without hesitating to kill living beings.
But they did not realize until the moment of destruction that true self-salvation does not come at the cost of one's own life, and that living beings are what a mother loves most.
How could a mother forgive him for doing this over and over again, harming lives?
Yu Qing possessed the body and picked up a black mirror from where the sarcophagus had melted into sand.
In fact, the mother never really punished them. She had already given them the method of self-rescue, but they just didn't understand it. The infinite oasis might exist.
Yu Qing held the black mirror and drew out a wisp of soul from it, and the black mirror was crushed by her bare hands.
An infinite oasis, or a place of eternal mystery.
“Rustle…”
There were noises coming from all around, and mummies broke through their last restrictions and crawled out from underground.
She took out the brush and turned it twice: "Old friend, it will be over soon."
…
…
Yin Yusheng sat on the ground and waited for an unknown amount of time. He felt extremely hungry and tired. Finally, a crisp sound came from the mirror.
"Miss Yu, you're out!"
Qin Zhi, who was resting against the wall, walked over immediately, a look of worry flashing in his eyes: "Are you okay?"
Yu Qing patted her pink shoulder bag and said, "Of course it's okay. The problem is solved. Let's go back."
Qin Zhi nodded: "Okay."
Yin Yusheng: "..." It seems like he was ignored again, right?
Yeah.
After dealing with the last soul, leaving the desert will be much easier.
Because as soon as they went out, they arrived directly at the entrance of the desert.
Fortunately, it was evening, otherwise if someone saw them appear out of nowhere, they might be taken away for research and sectioning.
When they parted, Yu Qing agreed with Qin Zhi on the time for his soul to return, and then he rushed back without stopping to prepare for the next national competition.
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