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Chapter 178 - 176: BE9 - Homecoming

Chapter 178: Chapter 176: BE9 - Homecoming

Mo Mo knelt on the bitterly cold snow-covered ground, his fingers frantically clawing at the floor in agony, with all the spaces between them filled with blood.

The girl he was protecting beneath him was motionless and would no longer smile.

Perhaps Mo Mo had just returned; the chariot by his side suggested he might have just rushed back from a town, which is why he was the one who escaped death. But that’s not important; given his lack of protection against the blizzard, he likely wouldn’t live much longer.

Su Ming’an watched for a while before he prepared to turn and leave.

Logically, since Qingqing was dead, the failure of the side mission shouldn’t affect the Perfect Completion Progress. This mission seemed insignificant. Since this place was no longer safe, there was no need for him to linger.

It was already the ninth night, and it was almost past midnight. The tenth day was critical. He had to find somewhere safe.

But just as he turned, he heard the significant noise of footsteps from behind him, the sound of friction against the snowy ground. Then, he heard a man’s hoarse roar:

"—It’s all because of you, all of this happened because of you!"

Without turning around, Su Ming’an stretched out his hand and effortlessly caught the wooden stick that Mo Mo struck at him.

"—If it weren’t for you, our town wouldn’t have—"

Su Ming’an turned his head, exerted a little force, and effortlessly took the wooden stick from him, tossing it onto the ground.

...Mo Mo wasn’t wrong. Xu Anna indeed came looking for him. If he hadn’t been here, the town wouldn’t have suffered.

"Yes, it is because of me, but..." Su Ming’an began to say something but stopped halfway.

He didn’t want to communicate any further with a worthless NPC; after all, Mo Mo wasn’t his target for strategy.

"As expected, as expected—"

Mo Mo’s eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Su Ming’an, his facial features contorted with grief, his tears mingling with the snow on his weather-beaten face into a messy slush.

It was as if endless waves of sorrow were raging within him. Faced with Su Ming’an’s extremely indifferent gaze, he choked for a moment and a wail spilled from his lips.

"...As expected, you nobles are all the same. You understand nothing... Life is as light as a feather in your eyes; you have no clue what price we have to pay just to live—" he said, becoming increasingly agitated, his anger suddenly overflowing its bounds.

He suddenly moved, letting out a wild beast-like howl, and pounced on Su Ming’an in a terribly frenzied manner, hands reaching out as if intent on fiercely strangling Su Ming’an’s throat.

"Qingqing, Qingqing is dead—" his screams were heart-wrenching as if fire were spurting out from his chest: "Qingqing is dead! Do you remember her, how good a child she was—"

Su Ming’an looked at the blood-stained fingers reaching toward him, his sword raising slightly in his hand.

"Bang—!"

He closed his eyes, and suddenly felt a warm splash on his eyelids, the scent of blood bursting forth instantly. It felt as if his entire face was sprayed with fresh blood.

He opened his eyes.

The frenzied man before him had lost his human shape, the snow-covered ground smeared with a thick layer of bloody mud, with splattered droplets scattering like fireworks, sprinkling onto him.

The sword in his hand had not yet been raised. He had not laid a hand on him.

...someone had acted before him, choosing to end Mo Mo’s life with such a brutally decisive method.

He seemed to sense something, took out a cloth, wiped his now blood-streaked face clean, turned around, and looked in the direction where the energy wave had come from.

In the midst of the swirling snowstorm, a white figure stood silently on the snowy blanket, blending seamlessly with the surrounding environment.

Those silver-bright eyes quietly looked his way, carrying a profundity as though locking time in place.

"The Prophet is dead?" Holy Initiation asked, his voice calm.

"Dead."

"You killed her?"

"Mm."

Su Ming’an threw the blood-stained cloth on the ground and then raised his sword again.

"You still refuse to go back?" Holy Initiation asked.

The death of an Xu Anna seemed insignificant to him; he skipped over this topic entirely and continued to repeat his question.

"Who would willingly go back to their death," Su Ming’an said matter-of-factly, "You saw for yourself that the research is progressing rapidly. I can now guarantee its success. Keeping me alive is much more valuable than having me die."

...He seldom used absolute plot directions to think about future actions.

Accustomed to game strategies, he was adept at considering the game’s own process from the designer’s perspective.

For example, he had taken a Perfect Pass route away from the Regular Army Square without any indication of failure so far, which meant he still had other options. If he wasn’t killed by Xu Anna, a critical point in the game’s past, then from Holy Initiation’s point of view, there should also be a way out.

If he could convince the other party, it might count as a successful path in this route.

...After all, there had to be a sliver of hope in front of him; it was not possible for him to confront head-on with the Combat Power ceiling. It was all about whether he could seize the opportunity.

Then, he saw the Continent Ruler in front of him, whose expression had always been unchanged, close his eyes, and his tone unexpectedly became gentle:

"If possible," Holy Initiation said slowly, his voice almost a whisper, "...I too hope that you can live."

"Then let me leave," Su Ming’an said, "My Array will be completed within tomorrow. Though it’s only the first version, it can subtly change many people’s abilities. If I continue my research... it would be simple to change those contaminated Demon Beasts by purifying the Evil in their bloodlines—with time, I can change the entire Continent."

"Holy Initiation," he pronounced the other’s name, his tone extremely sincere, "...trust me. I have no designs on your Continent, nor do I pose a threat. Just give me a laboratory and keep me alive... I can bring you everything."

He knew the other was a Continent’s ambitious figure, a divine authority Ruler. The first time he met Holy Initiation in the grand hall, he had been told of the ambition to build a kingdom of humans as Gods, to rule the ignorant with divine authority.

The personal memoir Qin Wang left behind also told him that he was dealing with someone who wanted to grab the results of the research to maintain his rule, so much so that he was eager to send him, a highly proclaimed Sage Master of the Continent, to the sacrificial altar as the experiment was nearing its completion.

He had gradually figured out the other’s intentions, and he had always behaved like a scholar obsessed with research.

He did not show his full strength, nor did he display any craving for power. He even disdained Xu Anna, who threw herself at him, and after leaving the Revolutionary Army, he showed no intention of returning; instead, he spent the whole afternoon engrossed in his Array research, perfectly fitting the image of a scholar with no ambition who just wanted to survive.

Except for the challenge he had once thrown at Holy Initiation... everything should align well with the other’s wishes.

He looked at the other, who still had his eyes closed, as if he had not heard him speak.

The blizzard was fierce, gradually blurring his vision.

He exhaled, almost unable to feel the cold of the wind and snow.

...Because his body was nearly the same temperature as the surroundings. In fact, colder than the wind and snow.

The white expanse raged before him, and he saw Holy Initiation slowly open his eyes, his gaze sharp and resolute as a Blade Edge.

"But the Prophet is dead," Holy Initiation said.

The meaning was unclear.

Su Ming’an did not understand.

"Was Xu Anna important?" he asked.

He received no response.

Wind and snow swirled before his eyes, like a traveler observing from afar. He watched the white figure gradually dissipate into the snowy expanse.

"Xu Anna is a pawn, one side of the scale. Her weight has vanished, leaving a void." The voice of Holy Initiation floated nearby, "Qin Wang, do you understand what I mean?"

"I am the heaviest pawn on the scale."

Su Ming’an conversed with the enigmatic speaker.

"Yes," Holy Initiation replied.

A smile crept onto Su Ming’an’s face—he seemed to grasp the meaning behind Holy Initiation’s recent words.

It was like a thunderbolt that jolted him awake, if the fog cleared, every answer would be plainly visible.

The wind and snow twisted through darkness, the sharp howl of the wind screeching past.

Su Ming’an gazed at the dim daylight in the distance, the icy snowflakes settling on his eyelashes. He blinked; before his eyes was the watery gleam of melting snow.

"Now that you understand, I shall ask you one last time,"

The suddenly gentle voice of Holy Initiation, close by, word by word carried a beguiling undertone, "...If everything is predetermined and unchangeable. Now, would you still choose to go back?"

"Get lost."

Su Ming’an replied simply.

...

Su Ming’an closed his eyes, then opened them again.

Before him was a frighteningly shaped paste, emitting a strange odor; the little girl extended her hand, smiling.

Outside the window, smoke from cooking fires curled up, accompanied by the sound of children playing, carts pressing upon snow, firewood clattering.

Daylight slanted down like a scattering of light gauze; after the oppressive night dissipated like ink, what greeted him was a world awash in pale luminescence.

Life was resurgent, thriving splendidly.

The snowstorm was no more.

Su Ming’an instinctively clenched his hand, but quickly relaxed. His gaze somewhat dispersed as if still immersed in the nearly world-engulfing snowstorm of the night.

"—Big sister, you’re awake."

The girl’s voice chimed, clear and bright as glass.

Su Ming’an’s body trembled slightly, he silently took the paste and drank it, then realized that the horrific poison debuff didn’t trigger.

Rank B Luck wasn’t so bad after all.

After swallowing a bowl of the indescribably flavored mush, his condition rapidly stabilized.

The subsequent process unfolded just like the previous cycle. When Mo Mo and Qingqing left the house and closed the door behind them, he didn’t go to study the Array; instead, he pondered his next move.

—He was beginning to understand that the identity assigned to him was definitely of hellish difficulty.

Without any warning or clue, sudden, inexplicable death awaited. If he didn’t seize every shred of evidence, a Perfect Pass would be impossible.

He even doubted that other players from parallel worlds, even those at the top of the rankings, faced a difficulty as immense as his.

He had reached an outrageous point where nearly no paths remained.

And the survival rate was even more preposterous. No matter how much effort he put in previously, no matter how much progress he accumulated, if it didn’t reach one hundred percent, he could plummet at any moment, back to 0% in the blink of an eye.

"[I am the heaviest pawn on the scale]."

Su Ming’an sat on his bed, staring at the dagger in his hands, and the reflection of his eyes on its shining surface.

The bloodshot in his eyes was evident, his head ached as if punctured by needles, interrupting his detailed thoughts.

"[Xu Anna is also a pawn]," Su Ming’an murmured lowly, "[Her disappearance means the scale is missing a piece]."

—He was gradually coming to understand.

Holy Initiation was perhaps not so shortsighted, aiming to kill him just for temporary domination of the Continent.

Holy Initiation seemed to be using their lives as [pawns], on the tenth day, to make some kind of deal.

Xu Anna’s life was a [pawn], and because she died, the planned quality of life diminished.

And Qin Wang... might be the greatest [pawn], worth more than many others combined, hence Holy Initiation’s insistence on his return.

This explained everything, for the transaction on the tenth day, Holy Initiation intended to sacrifice many, and the most useful among them was him.

But this also led to inconsistencies.

Xu Anna’s death meant a loss of value. Yet, Qin Wang... retained value even in death.

Otherwise, Holy Initiation wouldn’t have resorted to killing him in the end.

Although some areas were still unclear, Su Ming’an began planning his moves for this cycle.

Holy Initiation would not have discovered this place ordinarily; it was Xu Anna’s commotion that drew him here.

Therefore, what he had to do this cycle was to control the variables, prevent Xu Anna, and gradually deduce the truth based on upcoming events.

After all, he was just an ordinary student, unable to conceive any profoundly prescient actions in such circumstances. Compared to others who could Perfect Pass in one life, he was sorely lacking. But fortunately, he had chances to try and err over and over.

He stood up, not bothering with the Array.

If he didn’t deal with Holy Initiation, this ticking time bomb, the Array was meaningless.

He sent a message to Shadow, asking him to establish contact with the Revolutionary Army as soon as possible, then pushed the door open.

Before him were rows of rural cottages. Outside each house, stacks of dry straw and firewood were piled. Because the place was too cold, not even an animal’s shadow could be seen—only long tracks of a chariot and the deep footprints left by people dragging it through the snow could be observed.

The adults seemed to have gone out, leaving only children in the town. Not even older kids were in sight, only those too young to walk the roads properly, playing together.

Perhaps any child old enough to labor had taken on the burden of helping their families cope.

Su Ming’an looked at the few children playing loudly by the vegetable stall across the street, then his eyes landed on Qingqing, who stood aside, like a little snowman.

She seemed isolated, simply holding the unwashed medicine bowl, watching the playing children.

On a whim, Su Ming’an asked her, "What’s wrong, envious?"

"..." Qingqing fell silent for a moment.

"Not envious." She said, her fingers pinching the bowl, knuckles pale, "Anyway, they’re going to die today."