Chapter 94 The Final Feast of Revelry (XIV) I am murdering a 'god'...
"call."
The band's dancing continued, but suddenly one dancer in the group, with exceptionally beautiful features and long, seaweed-like brown hair, raised her head, her pupils unfocused, and a fervent smile blooming on her lips:
"The feast of revelry begins today! Your loyal servant Vivian kneels at the door awaiting your summons!"
No, the Holy Grail must not fall into the hands of the Pleasure Band!
A bead of cold sweat slid down his forehead. Ignoring the increasingly severe headache, Du Yu rapidly expanded his mental energy, extending countless "tentacles" in an effort to find a loophole in the spiritual realm's blockade.
It's impossible for Mimi Yin to completely seal off the spirit world; she's not the ruler of the spirit world. Although we don't know what method she used, it must have loopholes. As long as we find those loopholes, she can reconnect to her true form and break the seal, and her current frustrating situation will naturally improve.
Du Yu's brain was racing, constantly recalling the knowledge about rituals she had pieced together from various sources. Subconsciously, she frowned, feeling for some reason that she had forgotten something.
Even she herself, a spy who infiltrated the group, is trying her best to prevent the Pleasure Trove from obtaining the Holy Grail. As the host, the Gentlemen's Club, the organizer of the ceremony, has not been able to organize a decent counterattack for half a day, apart from a few vague counterattacks. Is this normal?
The moment this thought appeared, it occupied Du Yu's entire mind. The more she thought about it, the more alarmed she became. She watched helplessly as the golden whirlwind in the spirit world became more and more solid, and the phantom of the six-star Holy Grail became clearer and clearer. She could even see the patterns engraved on it. It seemed that the Holy Grail was about to fall into the hands of the crazed believer who called herself "Vivian" in the next second.
Du Yu stopped staring intently at the Holy Grail, abruptly lowered his head, and the worst-case scenario flashed through his mind. There was no time to hesitate; a single second could mean the loss of hundreds of lives. With a thought, Du Yu used the forum's mission section to send an urgent notification to Mao Hu Zi, Wang Er Qi, and others.
As the owner of the highest privileges on the forum, Du Yu could, like the pop-up ads in her previous life, directly send messages that only she could see to the other side, so that even a blind person could see them, and Cat Beard and the others were no exception.
Just as he was about to step forward after hearing Wenren Qiu's words, Cat Whiskers, who was vying for the Holy Grail in the Spirit Realm, paused and used his mental power to dismiss the constantly popping-up message window.
She remembered clearly that the Church of the Listener had been searching for the Holy Grail fragments, and the initial purpose of this mission was also to snatch the fragments from the Gentlemen's Guild. She accepted the mission because it would cause trouble for the Gentlemen's Guild and the Quark people, but now... the mission objective was to lower the priority of the Holy Grail fragments, and the primary task was to save people.
Saving lives is like putting out a fire; these distracting thoughts didn't even last a second. The silver light in Cat Whiskers' eyes faded, and he curled his lip in disgust.
Her eyes, which were disproportionate to the size of an ordinary child and sharp like those of an adult, looked one last time at the Holy Grail in the spirit world, which seemed so close. Her body suddenly turned around, a faint smile appeared on her lips, and her gaze swept quickly through the crowd before she rushed off in one direction.
"Don't be afraid, everyone! We have God's protection! Hold tight to the pearls in your hands! They are a gift from God, and He will protect us!"
Amidst the chaos, Wang Erqi shouted at the top of her lungs, trying to make her voice carry as far as possible. When she saw the mission prompt, she didn't even pause for a moment—protecting the Lord's believers and potential believers was exactly what she was doing.
"careful!"
Wang Erqi stretched out his hand and grabbed a miner who was fleeing in panic. Because he used too much force, half of his body left the protective range of the [Divine Revelation Pearl]. A fallen creature in the distance saw this and, using some unknown means, immediately teleported over and bit down hard on Wang Erqi with its foul-smelling mouth!
It had long been dissatisfied with this human who would put those pesky "bags" on the food!
A gasp rang out behind her. Wang Erqi gritted her teeth. Being an ordinary person, she had no way to escape. She decided to ignore it, gripping the miner's hand even tighter. The gods are high above; the only thing mortals can do is spread their faith. Save as many believers as you can—
"Pop".
A strange sound came from the side, but the expected excruciating pain did not come. Wang Erqi first subconsciously comforted the frightened miner and handed him a [Divine Revelation Pearl] before coming to his senses. He thanked the cat whiskers who had saved him with a mixture of surprise and doubt.
The strange superhuman with the body of a child nodded at her, and a smiling girl peeked out from behind her: "Let me translate, what our Little Cat Sister means is, you're very brave, she admires you but is too shy to say it... Aww!"
Knowing that this was sent by God to assist her, Wang Erqi quickly came to her senses. With the help of this group of superhumans, who, despite their strange appearance, possessed great strength, they would be able to save more people.
In the chaotic and painful mine, plump, round pink pearls, shrouded in a layer of fluorescence even in the gray mist, fell like rain into the hands of the fleeing miners.
Upon receiving the pearls, the miners, whose eyes had begun to turn bloodshot due to the influence of the corrupted species, suddenly felt a sense of clarity, as if they had drunk a bucket of ice water in the sweltering summer heat—a feeling of exhilaration they hadn't experienced in a long time. The repression and irritability that had accumulated from their long labor in the mines vanished without a trace.
These pearls naturally came from Wang Erqi and her newly recruited followers.
Although there were many people, only the fanatical believers had access to the synthesis formula. After the spirit world was sealed off and the connection to the god's body was lost, all the pearls were synthesized by Wang Erqi alone.
According to the original plan, with the more than one thousand followers they had already developed, they would have been able to accumulate enough pearls for all the miners in the mine in just one more day.
But no one expected that the church of Mimiyin would suddenly go mad. The day before the start of the Gentlemen's Church ceremony, as if they had an inside accomplice, they precisely blew up the outer walls of the mine and broke in.
This has resulted in Du Yu having no extra pearls besides those distributed to new believers. At this point, he can only work overtime to synthesize pearls on the spot and distribute them as he goes.
The immense pressure between life and death could crush an A-level ability user, but in Wang Erqi's usually mediocre eyes, dulled by work and life, a flame called faith was burning continuously, and there was no sign of retreat.
Even though the system classifies believers to the highest level—fanaticism—Du Yu, looking into those eyes, knew without any specific data that Wang Erqi's faith in her had just strengthened significantly.
Could it be that she enjoys working?
It's said that reason is the killer of faith, but looking at Wang Erqi's faith growth rate, it's almost at the same speed as Xiao Yi's current delirious state.
Du Yu asked himself if he had done anything earth-shattering that could inspire such faith in people.
Now is not the time to study these minor issues.
Du Yu watched as Wang Erqi perfectly, even exceeding expectations, not only synthesizing the materials himself but also mobilizing the newly developed followers around him to collect the materials. He breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a sense of delight at having found a bargain.
In Du Yu's view, these people's faith was shallower than a light bulb about to run out of power. Yet, under Wang Erqi's command, they risked their lives, endured fear, and even exceeded the quota of ore assigned to them by Wang Erqi.
This is certainly not because these people are all exceptional heroes. On the contrary, it is unclear whether the gentleman deliberately chose them, but all the miners Yu has seen here, without exception, have some kind of mental weakness, making them more convenient as sacrifices.
Moreover, although they are believers now, according to the system's classification, "shallow believers" can be believers who have only recently come to faith, or believers with a very shallow level of faith who can abscond and run away at any time.
In this situation, Wang Erqi was able to successfully mobilize this group of people not only because they had already witnessed the wonders of the [Divine Revelation Pearl] in practice, but also because Wang Erqi's own organizational skills were not to be underestimated.
How did such a talented person end up being abducted and forced to work illegally in a black mine?
Unable to resist inwardly criticizing the City of the Sun's supposedly most "advanced" talent selection system, Du Yu finally received enough Divine Revelation Pearls, breathed a sigh of relief, and transmitted the subsequent sacrifice method to Wang Erqi.
【Characteristic 3: Like a Star - Twinkle, twinkle, little star, look up and see, oh, it's a pearl! Pearls are afraid of loneliness. When a certain number of pearls gather together, the quality of all pearls present will be temporarily increased, illuminating the long night for those you want to protect =W=】
The method to improve the quality of [Divine Pearl] is not just about increasing quantity. After reaching a certain quantity, you can also upgrade the grade of the pearl in a short time through a ritual, thereby increasing the defense level of the shield.
However, after using it this way, the [Divine Revelation Pearl] will enter a "broken" state and will be temporarily unusable. It must be repaired before it can be used again.
That's not a problem at all. This desolate mine has little to offer except for cursed stones.
Wang Erqi and the other miners could find materials for synthesizing pearls just by picking them up casually.
This incredible scene, which completely defies the law of conservation of energy, can be achieved simply by spending enough faith points.
Because of the disaster that struck the mine, countless miners whom Wang Erqi had never met before spontaneously sought his protection.
Before Du Yu and Wang Erqi could even make any demands regarding their faith, these new believers, who had only recently joined the church, took the lead in demanding that the new miners must join the Church of the Listening Lord before they could join the Divine Revelation Pearl Protection Shield.
This surprised Du Yudu somewhat, but that's human nature. After his initial surprise, Wang Erqi simply went along with it and acquiesced.
Therefore, although the faith points that Du Yu had accumulated over the years were disappearing at a rapid pace, they were being accumulated again at an even faster rate due to the influx of a large number of new believers.
Du Yu casually opened it and took a look. After messing around in the mine for so long, her faith points had actually increased instead of decreased. Anyway, she had enough to spend, so Du Yu simply ignored it.
Due to this unexpected turn of events, Du Yu has completed both sections of the main questline concerning the number of believers and the level of fame, but he currently has no time to check them.
The problem now is that Wang Erqi and his group are making pearls very quickly, but because of the sudden attack by the Pleasure Troupe and the attack by the Fallen Ones, the miners have scattered in panic and it is difficult for them to regroup.
In those few short seconds, Wang Erqi and his team only had time to save over two thousand miners. Although they still had enough pearls left after the synthesis, the battlefield was unpredictable, and they didn't have enough time.
Du Yu's heart skipped a beat, feeling that the gloomy atmosphere that had been hanging over the mine for so long had reached its peak at this moment.
Countless broken spirits filled with pain, sorrow, and despair converge and connect in the spirit world.
These cries of mortals, which were previously ignored, insignificant, and often ridiculed, have now merged together and coalesced into a massive energy in the spirit world that has even caught the attention of the gods, creating a colossal wave within the spirit realm.
In the spirit world, the golden tornado swirled faster and faster. The sea of pain, dominated by sorrow, was like a swamp, constantly drawing the "tornado" down, down, until the swamp of pain was about to submerge the rim of the Holy Grail. The Holy Grail was about to fall into reality and into the hands of Vivian from the Pleasure Trove.
However, since the spirit world and reality are not directly related, no one can stop the six-star Holy Grail from falling before it breaks through the barrier of the spirit world and enters the real material world.
If the Holy Grail falls into the hands of an evil god, even a minor one, do you think it will be easy to get it back?
Is he now doomed to watch helplessly as Mimi obtains the Holy Grail?
Despite Du Yu's repeated attempts, the seal binding his spiritual power in the spirit world grew stronger and stronger with the surging sea of pain constructed from the miners' fragments of spirit bodies, becoming an insurmountable barrier in his path.
Reason told her that it was best to escape before [Mimi Yin] obtained the Holy Grail and became a true god. [Mimi Yin] had previously seemed to have goodwill towards her, but now that the balance of power had reversed, who could guarantee that their relationship would remain the same?
Du Yu glanced at the miners who were looking up in panic within the protective barrier of the Divine Revelation Pearl, gritted his teeth, and kept telling himself, "Wait a little longer, wait a little longer. If my premonition comes true, [Mi Mi Yin] will not be able to obtain the Holy Grail."
A scream suddenly came from not far away. Du Yu subconsciously looked over.
The miner who screamed ran quite far, not entering the area protected by the pearl shield, but managed to find a relatively safe place.
He was just hiding peacefully by himself, but it was as if he had seen the most terrifying monster. With a "poof," he spat out a mouthful of blood, his facial features contorted to the extreme, his whole body convulsed, and he fell straight down.
Although the miner's body was still twitching and struggling, Du Yu was strong enough to see it clearly.
The moment the miner let out a loud scream, his eyes lost their light, his spirit shattered instantly, and merged into the lake of pain that had solidified in the spirit world.
what happened?
A question instinctively arose in Du Yu's mind. Screams of agony rang out all around him, and even inside the protective shield of the Divine Revelation Pearl, a miner who had just entered screamed and collapsed to the ground. His suspicions instantly became reality. Du Yu couldn't help but clench his hands tightly, his fingers digging deep into the stone. The veins on the back of his hand bulged, and the stone silently crumbled into dust, flowing out from it.
It was the Gentlemen's Club, a bunch of hypocrites, who did this!
In a flash, Du Yu understood everything.
Why did the Gentlemen's Club remain unmoved despite the [Misty Melody] band causing such a ruckus in the mine for so long? Besides being busy preparing for the ceremony, there was another reason.
—They used some unknown means to plant a seed of curse in the spirits of all the miners.
The curse can be unleashed in an instant. Therefore, as long as the curse is detonated at the right time, no matter how others interfere, even if the followers of Mimi Yin have ten hands, they cannot outrun these bald men who are waiting in ambush in terms of killing speed.
As long as the gentlemen's association is responsible for most of the miners' deaths, their rituals, though disrupted, can proceed normally, and the Holy Grail, drawn by the ritual, will still fall into the hands of the gentlemen's association.
Sure enough, the Holy Grail, which had been nearly solidified and was falling toward the believers of Mimiyin in the spirit world, suddenly began to sway, as if it were tethered by an invisible rope, and wobbled uncertainly in the spirit world.
As more and more miners fell victim to the curse, the phantom of the Six-Star Grail vanished as if evaporated before Vivian, the leader of the Pleasure Trove, watched in the shadow of her. Just as no one could stop her from obtaining the Grail, she could not stop its departure either.
"Damn the Gentlemen's Club!"
Anger flashed in Vivian's eyes. She cursed and slapped a worker at her feet, who was struggling in agony under the curse but was still alive. The dreamlike, bewildered look on her face suddenly seemed to clear.
After venting her anger, Vivian waited a while, and then a cold smile suddenly appeared on her face.
"You're well-prepared. But do you think this guarantees everything? Do you think this will stop me from serving God? Screw you, you bullshit god-making plan, go eat shit!"
The next few words were spoken by Vivian in a low voice, using a method similar to mental communication. Even those around her who might not be paying attention could hear them clearly.
It seems that although the members of the Joyful Band were disappointed, they were not surprised.
Indeed, after all, it was a ceremony commissioned by Quark and prepared by the Gentlemen's Club for so long. If they didn't even have a single emergency plan, it would be too much of a shoddy operation.
However, the Gentlemen's Club's backup plan has been exposed; though vicious, it is effective enough.
What divine decree did [MiMiYin] deliver? What are the Joyful Band's backup plans? What is the source of their confidence that they are not disappointed?
Most of the miners died because of the curse. Even if they were to dismantle those strange protective shields and kill the remaining miners, the resulting ripples in the spirit world would be far from enough.
The members of the band exchanged glances and then, losing interest, stopped playing.
On the abandoned dock, littered with blood, the sounds of singing and dancing finally faded away, and for a moment the entire dock was eerily quiet.
The members of the Joyful Band seemed to search for a moment, then accurately located the spot where the seventh string had disappeared. After exchanging glances, they held hands and sang a song with indistinct lyrics, its melody melodious and gentle.
As the last note of the song abruptly ended, the members of the Joyful Band melted into countless colorful musical notes. The colorful notes danced a few times in the air before quickly becoming transparent and disappearing.
With the protection of the Divine Revelation Pearl shield, Cat Beard and his team were well-equipped to handle the aftermath at the dock.
Du Yu ceased his involvement. Sensing the seal within the spirit realm, which vanished along with the members of the Joyful Band, he swiftly gathered within this avatar, reaching the body's maximum capacity before flashing back to where the Seventh String had disappeared.
Her gaze kept shifting, the purple light swirling in her pupils for a moment, and she quickly found the trick. A burst of purple fire shot from her fingertips, and she forcefully carved a pitch-black hole about the width of a person into the ground, then jumped into it.
"Bishop D?"
Shen Xijing saw a bald man dressed as an employee of the club suddenly dart out. Just as she was about to go up to him and tell him not to wander around and to hide in a safe place, she saw that familiar, ordinary face and instinctively exclaimed in surprise.
Then she realized that this mission was originally issued by Bishop D, and she had previously given the pirate group a mission to investigate the Florence docks, so her presence here was perfectly reasonable.
Shen Xijing herself didn't realize that when she saw that familiar face, even if only for a moment, a portion of the sorrow and heaviness she had accumulated upon witnessing the tragedy at the dock quietly disappeared. It was as if anything could be resolved smoothly with Bishop D's intervention.
"Sometimes I really don't understand what they're trying to do. Let's just end this already. Is the Holy Grail really that important?"
Shen Xijing came to her senses, stretched out her hands, and pink light danced in her palms, helping to heal the wounds of the injured Aliya, Cai Chunyu and others. She then casually straightened Wang Erqi's twisted arm and sighed as she looked at the spot where Du Yu's figure had disappeared.
"Why hasn't it started yet? I've had enough of waiting! Dr. Li, let's finish this already!"
Inside a secret underground laboratory, Hu Tiankui sat on one side of a glass wall, along with a group of Gentlemen's Club executives who had disappeared during the recent mine riot. To Hu Tiankui's left was a strange device made of black iron, about two people tall, resembling a heavy coffin.
On the other side of the glass wall, countless strange instruments, dazzling to the eye and of unknown purpose, were displayed. Surrounded by these cold instruments, the girl lying on the operating table sensed the anxious atmosphere around her and couldn't help but question the woman dressed as a doctor standing next to her.
The girl lying on the operating table was wearing a blue and white hospital gown, her eyes were covered by an eye patch, and she was tilting her head to the side, relying entirely on her hearing to perceive her surroundings.
She realized that the people around her, who had just been preparing for surgery, had suddenly stopped. Her fingers involuntarily gripped the sterile drape beneath her. Her tone was arrogant, but her voice trembled slightly as she asked the question.
"You wanted to gain superpowers, didn't you? This is the price you have to pay."
The strange, android-like doctor with superpowers, who should be beside her, spoke coldly. It was an answer that was completely irrelevant to the question, but her words reassured Gu Xi, who was lying on the operating table, and she stopped struggling.
In fact, it was precisely because of someone like Li Yueyuan that Gu Xi, the dignified heiress of the Gu family, agreed to participate in this utterly insane surgery.
Even an android can gain superpowers, and even that despicable and rude Gu Tu, a vulgar guy who grew up in the lower city, can have superpowers. Why can't Gu Xi, who grew up in the upper city, gain superpowers?
The more she thought about it, the more obvious the jealousy in her eyes became, to the point that it irrationally overshadowed her inner fear and unease.
At that moment, only one thought remained in her mind. She had to complete this surgery and gain her superpowers; she had to tell everyone that Gu Tu was the imposter, a fake, and only she, Gu Xi, was the true daughter of the Gu family.
A pair of hands, cold and almost inhuman, gently stroked her hair. The voice was low, but Gu Xi could hear it clearly: "Was it all worth it?"
"Of course."
Gu Xi asked in surprise, "This is a superpower! Who wouldn't want it? Even the lowest-level superpowered individuals will have their lifespan extended and gain power that surpasses that of ordinary people after awakening their superpowers. I must get a superpower!"
"When you're an ordinary person, you want to gain superpowers. When you're a low-level superpower user, you want to become a high-level superpower user. And when you're a high-level superpower user, standing at the top of the superpower community, you'll deeply resent the limits of humanity. You'll either give up on yourself or develop unwarranted ambitions and delusions deep within your heart. In any case, this is not a path to happiness. I really want to ask you, is all of this really worth it?"
Gu Xi couldn't see the face, but the voice seemed to be sighing, as if she would save herself from the operating table if she said she regretted it.
A slight unease crept into Gu Xi's heart. Even if she were willing, her mother probably wouldn't agree, given how much money the Gu family had invested in this project. These thoughts flashed by, and a more fervent idea swept over her mind, taking over all her reason.
"Doctor, I can't see that far ahead. I just want happiness in the present. If I were an ordinary person, I would become a superhuman; if I were a low-level superhuman, I would become a high-level superhuman; if I were at the pinnacle of humanity, I would try to break through human limits. I want to pursue everything I desire and am willing to pay any price for it."
"When I lay here, I was already prepared to lose everything. There's no need to try to persuade me, doctor."
Li Yueyuan then fell silent; she was not a talkative person to begin with.
The glass wall wasn't soundproof, and Hu Tiankui remained silent for a while. He looked at the girl lying on the operating table, glanced down at the time, and nervously tore at the skin on his hands. Why haven't they started yet?
Suddenly, as if he could no longer bear it, he shouted at Li Yueyuan, "What are you waiting for? Why hasn't the surgery started yet?"
"If you don't want the tongue anymore, you can cut it off and feed it to the dog."
The cold scalpel was aimed at him, and before he knew it, it pierced through his chest armor with a "sizzle" and embedded itself in his skin, while the glass wall remained completely intact. Who knows where that damned scalpel came from?
Cold sweat poured down his back. Hu Tiankui belatedly realized that the person in front of him was not his subordinate, but a doctor dispatched by the group who was not very obedient. If she had wanted to, that knife would have already dug out his heart.
Having worked in the gentlemen's club for so many years, he had seen quite a few big scenes. Although he was sobered up by Li Yueyuan's display and came to his senses from that almost frenzied state, Hu Tiankui showed no fear on his face. He even took a step forward, and blood gushed out with a "sizzle".
"Dr. Li. My men are bleeding outside. They are my brothers who grew up with me. I can feel their pain. Can you tell me what you are waiting for?"
Li Yueyuan curled her lips into a sneer, as if mocking something: "Isn't this the effect you wanted?"
"What?"
Before Hu Tiankui could even speak in astonishment, Li Yueyuan put on a mask. Her hair, which stood straight up like electrical wires, curled up at the ends, resembling a strange helmet with its back sticking up, tightly binding Li Yueyuan's head.
"Didn't you ask when the surgery could be done? It can be done now."
"good."
Hu Tiankui breathed a sigh of relief, his face lighting up with even greater joy as if he had suddenly discovered something. He looked excitedly at one end of the operating table, where Gu Xi lay flat, her feet resting on a scale-like instrument. It was the special instrument made by Lan Ge that Hu Tiankui had taken from Dong Shiwu after he had found a reason to confine her—the Scales of Fate.
The space in the middle of the instrument, representing its capacity, was completely filled.
The scales swayed back and forth as if they were stuffed, with clumps of brown energy pressing down on the left side, while on the other side, although seemingly empty, the subtly distorted air was heavier than that solid brown mass.
Then, the brown energy cluster on one side of the scale suddenly surged several times in size, and the distorted air on the other side of the scale also changed. On the previously empty tray, the air gradually distorted, and the phantom of a cup-shaped object slowly emerged.
Hu Tiankui was overjoyed. He subconsciously reached out to touch the cup, but his fingers passed right through the blurry image.
It wasn't the right time yet. Hu Tiankui withdrew his hand, his expression one of disappointment, then suddenly brightened. Regardless, the Holy Grail was now anchored; it wouldn't be taken away again.
Li Yueyuan didn't speak, seemingly ignoring him completely. He looked down at the girl's young and clueless face, paused for a moment, and then suddenly said softly, "It's time."
The doctor picked up the scissors, the cold metal slicing across her scalp, bringing a chilling sensation like touching a cold-blooded reptile. With a few "snips," Gu Xi's smooth, long hair, which cost her hundreds of thousands of credits to maintain every year, fell to the ground like autumn leaves, revealing the girl's pale, bluish-white scalp.
Even though she couldn't see, Gu Xi subconsciously clenched her clothes, gritted her teeth, and kept telling herself: it was all worth it.
Li Yueyuan seemed completely unconcerned about the patient's feelings. Haircutting, disinfection, anesthesia... she carried out each task methodically and quickly, making one wonder if she had a third hand.
A strange sound, like cutting a plastic bottle, came from the back of her head. Gu Xi lay on the operating table, her consciousness momentarily hazy, before she belatedly realized what the sound was—Li Yueyuan had cut open her scalp.
Gu Xi had read the surgical procedure before the operation. Although she didn't understand most of it, she had a general idea of what she was going to go through.
First, the cortex at the back of the head is cut open, several multifunctional medical nanorobots are implanted at the wound site, life support channels are inserted, and finally, the area in the brain that stores spiritual energy, commonly known as the brain region, is located, and the already formed Holy Grail is deeply inserted.
The anesthesia could only alleviate some of the pain. Even though the most painful part hadn't started yet, Gu Xi had already nervously closed her eyes. But in order to regain her mother's expectant gaze, she had to endure it.
Perhaps the anesthesia affected her thinking; Gu Xi's thoughts remained tense, yet involuntarily began to wander. She recalled her childhood, a time she hadn't done in a long time, a carefree childhood, her thoughts returning to the time when she was still the only precious daughter in the family.
That way, she wouldn't have to gamble everything to prove herself, or give everything to be chosen, like she does now. She was her parents' only child, the only daughter of the Gu family. She once firmly believed that in the future, she would snatch the management of LanGe from that fool Du Yu and take the Gu family to the next level.
Instead of lying on a cold operating table, risking his life in a desperate gamble. It's all Gu Tu's fault!
If it weren't for her, how could I have ended up like this?! Why didn't she die in the lower city? Why did she come back?!
Strangely enough, even though such thoughts kept flashing through her mind, perhaps because of the surgery, Gu Xi did not feel any disgust or hatred towards Gu Tu.
On the contrary, she recalled the afternoon when the news of Bian Shaoyan's death came, when she rushed into Gu Tu's room, mocked Gu Tu, and said that she had successfully joined the Sun Chasing Project and would soon take away her parents' affection from Gu Tu, and the strange look in Gu Tu's eyes.
That was definitely not a look of jealousy or surprise.
When they broke in, the girl seemed to be reading a book, holding a collection of poems from before the Great Cataclysm—of course, a version translated in a flawed way.
To put on airs.
Gu Xi thought this at the time. Gu Tu always had some inappropriate traits, such as her overly calm gaze, which was not the hobby that a resident of the lower city who had not received a good education should have, and the way she was looking at her now, so calmly, as if she were looking at a dying person.
What are you looking at?
Stung by that calm gaze, Gu Xi suddenly forgot her original purpose for rushing in. She angrily questioned Gu Tu, grabbed the book from his hand, and wanted to tear the precious book to shreds and throw it at Gu Tu's face.
But because returning to the Gu family changed her life, Gu Tu, who had always felt guilty towards her, surprisingly did not comply with her wishes. Instead, he stared at her, a cryptic smile playing on his lips.
"why are you laughing?"
Gu Xi became even angrier. Gu Tu didn't answer her question, but instead placed the book she was holding in front of Gu Xi. Gu Xi's gaze unconsciously followed the girl's pale fingers and fell upon the line of poetry Gu Tu wanted her to see: "In the beginning of time, who passed on the Way?"
What does this sentence mean?
"That's none of your business, sister."
Gu Xi was slightly taken aback. This seemed to be the first time the other party had called her "sister" in private since being brought back to the Gu family.
Gu Xi was so shocked that all the anger she was about to unleash vanished instantly. Her lips moved, as if she wanted to say something, but remembering their long-standing strained relationship, she couldn't bring herself to say anything hurtful. She could only let out a heavy snort and turn to leave.
Pushing open the heavy door that seemed too cumbersome for a patient, she heard the girl's calm, gentle voice:
Goodbye, sister.
Actually, the fault for what happened back then wasn't Gu Tu's at all... she didn't do anything wrong either.
Gu Xi couldn't help but think to herself, and the next moment, the inexplicable disgust she had long felt for Gu Tu surged up again, churning in her mind. She felt as if her brain had been split in two, with two different thoughts tug at her nerves.
So much so that when Hu Tiankui, the steward of the lower city whom she had always looked down upon, cast a worried glance at her, Gu Xi, for the first time ever, gave him a half-asleep smile.
Seeing the smile on Gu Xi's face, Hu Tiankui felt a sudden sense of relief.
There won't be any mistakes. The plan won't fail... no, it will definitely succeed! Miss Gu will surely become the new god, and a new era is about to begin.
Mimi-yin has always coveted the Holy Grail, but even if the miners haven't all died, their minds will undoubtedly be affected by the seeds of fear he planted, immersing them in pain and panic. No matter what Mimi-yin's people do, they cannot dispel it.
With the Holy Grail now in his possession, Mimi's arrogant ascension ritual was largely a failure.
Those lunatics from the Happy Band are probably killing people up there to vent their anger.
Thinking this, Hu Tiankui felt genuinely relieved. His nerves, which had been taut for so long since accepting this task, finally had a moment of respite.
As his mind relaxed, even though he knew it was wishful thinking, he still subconsciously looked at the girl's hand tightly clenched beside him on the operating table.
Those were hands that clearly came from the Upper City; the knuckles were intact, the fingers had long, beautifully curved nails, and the skin was soft and firm—they were like exquisitely sculpted jade hands. They were a world apart from his rough hands, which came from the Lower City and were used to wielding weapons year-round.
If the plan succeeds, the distance between them will be even greater. He knows that this moment is the closest they've ever been.
He gazed intently at the girl's relaxed hand, his eyes slightly dazed. He would bury all his delusions and become her first believer. He would never forget how, in the past, those pure white hands, seemingly untouched by filth, had lifted him from the blood and gore.
With a "poof," his brain was ripped out, and his hands gripped the lint cloth beneath him tightly, veins bulging, making him look like a dying python.
"Li Yueyuan! What are you doing?"
Hu Tiankui stood up abruptly. For a moment, he couldn't even hear his own voice, but the doctor's cold, indifferent voice came from one side of the glass wall, shattering his heart.
"Oh? Me? I'm murdering a 'god'."
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Author's Note: Sorry, I didn't finish writing it, so I can only post the second half, the part about voice input on the bus, first. I hope it didn't cause any trouble for anyone.
——
P.S.: In the beginning of time, who passed on the Way? (From Qu Yuan's "Heavenly Questions")
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