Chapter 389: The Three Gods |
Since entering the Holy City, Qi Si had made two deals.
The first was with Father Laqi. The objective: to seize the great fleshy tumor that appeared at night, which was in fact the World's Fruit—the vessel where a nascent god slumbered and gestated.
Father Laqi hoped to acquire a newborn god, while Qi Si coveted the authority over space and time that would be amassed. Their two objectives ultimately converged on a single point: allowing the World's Fruit to devour all the believers in the Holy City.
Under the constraints of the Holy City's rules, neither Qi Si nor Father Laqi could directly harm the masses of innocent believers. But... what if those believers were no longer innocent?
The believers, not entirely devout, grow dissatisfied with the rule of the priests. Incited by a few choice words from foreign heretics, they organize to storm the temple and desecrate its miracles, only to become food for the new god dwelling in its depths—what a perfectly plausible script.
And so, the priests under Father Laqi’s command imposed harsh decrees across the city’s districts, while Qi Si manipulated the NPCs under his control to spread fear and resentment.
The second deal was with Fu Jue. By now, the man and the god had reached a preliminary consensus: they would use the principle that Identity Cards and authorities of the same path attract one another to prevent the Ancestral God from reviving in the new god’s vessel.
Asakura Yuko’s existence was thus incorporated into the plan. The holder of the [Taboo Scholar] Identity Card was naturally compatible with derivatives related to the authority of space and time. Placed beside the Ancestral God, she would act as a far more powerful magnet.
As for what to do after eliminating the threat of the Ancestral God...
Qi Si propped his chin on his hand, his gaze landing on Father Laqi, who stood in the shadows of the temple.
The white-robed man had been silent from the very beginning, watching the man and the god plot like a flickering phantom. He seemed entirely detached, his eyes betraying no desire to see his wish fulfilled.
A mere observer? Interesting.
...
Back in the Holy City, Asakura Yuko and Vader had finally managed to break free from the throng of people. They were now sprawled on a rooftop at a street corner, gasping for breath.
Vader, still catching his breath, grumbled, "That Identity Card of yours is seriously powerful. Mobilizing so many NPCs... in a massive instance like this, it’s practically a guaranteed win...
"The side effects are pretty terrifying, though. Those NPCs don't seem to listen to a word you say. They just stare at you like you're a prime cut of meat..."
"This isn't the effect of my Identity Card," Asakura Yuko said flatly. "I've already told you, my card's effect is to record history. I'm just as puzzled as you are about why things developed this way.
"And another thing—I believe cooperation is built on mutual trust. If you're just looking for a pawn to do your dirty work, you've picked the wrong person."
Vader froze for a moment, then covered his face with a sigh. "Alright, alright, no need to say it again. I believe you, okay? I was just making a comment..."
Asakura Yuko gave him a sidelong glance and said no more.
She was indeed puzzled, but her confusion wasn't limited to the card's inflammatory effect on the believers. It was also about the woman who had appeared in the vision.
She remembered clearly that the deity corresponding to the [Taboo Scholar] Identity Card was Li, the God of Space and Time, a male figure with long hair and black robes. The white-haired woman in the white robe she had witnessed could not possibly be the same god.
Who was that woman? Was it Huo, the God of Life?
From the historical fragments she had pieced together, the only symbols she knew for Huo were silver eyes, spiders, and frogs. Now, it seemed she could add white robes, white hair, and the World Tree to that list.
Was it because the Final Instance was drawing near that certain ancient beings were beginning to reawaken? Asakura Yuko speculated calmly, pulling out her History Page to jot down her thoughts. Yet, the confusion in her mind only deepened.
From the vision, the history of the Holy City was connected to Huo. The god who saved the believers and founded the city was Huo. So what was Qi Si doing on the throne now?
And what about the statues of another god scattered throughout the city?
How many gods had come to the Holy City? Who was its true master? Which part of its history was real?
"So, Yuko, what's our next move?" Vader asked, his breathing finally even, his voice full of excitement. "If we just use those believers to turn the whole city upside down, that should count as completing the main quest, right?"
"Not so fast." Asakura Yuko shook her head slightly. "We still don't know if there are real monsters at night in the Holy City. Inciting the believers to rebel against the priests before we have enough clues could lead to the legendary monsters completely overrunning the city and causing a catastrophe."
Vader blinked. "What's that got to do with us? We should be able to leave after we reach an ending, right? Why should we care if the NPCs live or die?"
Asakura Yuko paused, momentarily taken aback. For a second, she couldn't quite grasp why she had suddenly started sounding so compassionate.
But she quickly recovered and said with a hint of sarcasm, "I don't understand how someone so short-sighted has managed to survive this long, let alone become a top-ranked player. The main quest is indeed to achieve any ending, but it doesn't specify what those endings entail. There's no guarantee it doesn't include a scenario like 'the believers overthrow the priests, and the monsters descend.'
"I assume the novel *The Wandering Earth* isn't exactly obscure. Besides, with our weapon-type items sealed, I highly doubt you could survive the impact of a monster wave."
"Yuko, I only questioned you a little. Is there any need to get so worked up?" Vader clicked his tongue in annoyance. "And why did you say *I* wouldn't make it? Leaving yourself out of the equation, are you?"
"I'm not angry. I'm just stating the facts," Asakura Yuko said. "Players who overvalue combat and rely on brute force are naturally more affected than others when they lose their weapon-type items."
"Fine, fine. You have the Identity Card, you call the shots. So we lay low for now and make our move tomorrow?"
"No. If possible, I'd rather find a quiet corner where we won't be disturbed, gather Flames from other players by trading information, and then clear the instance by unlocking an ending with those Flames." Asakura Yuko turned her face toward Vader, her lifeless, dead-fish eyes staring at him coldly. "Have you ever heard of the Pig-Payoff Game?
"Imagine a pigpen with one big pig and one small pig. At one end of the pen is a trough, and at the other is a button that controls the food supply. Pressing the button dispenses ten units of food into the trough, but whoever presses it first pays a cost of two units. The button and the trough are at opposite ends, so the pig that presses the button pays a cost of two units and loses the opportunity to be the first to eat.
"If the small pig gets to the trough first, it eats at a normal pace due to lack of competition, and the final food ratio between the big and small pigs is 6:4. If they arrive at the same time, the big pig eats faster, and the final ratio is 7:3. If the big pig gets there first, it will devour all the remaining food, and the final ratio is 9:1.
"So, assuming both pigs are intelligent, the final outcome is this: the small pig chooses to wait, and the big pig goes to press the button.
"Our two-person group, compared to the players who entered in teams, is the weaker party in this model—the 'small pig.' For us, waiting is superior to acting. Therefore, our best option is to hole up in the temple, refuse to participate in any clue-gathering, and reduce our risk to zero."
Having finished her analysis, Asakura Yuko fell silent. Vader mulled it over for a long moment before asking, "What if everyone thinks that way? What if no one is willing to go out and explore? What do we do then?"
Asakura Yuko replied, "Then we all die here. The ones who don't want to die will take the risks for us."
"What if they'd rather die than let us get the better of them? Even if they want to live, what's stopping them from stabbing us in the back right before clearing the instance..."
"They won't. From our previous conversations, it's clear they at least outwardly agree with the Kyushu Guild's ideals. They wouldn't behave like slaughter-stream players," Asakura Yuko said. "Besides, among them are plenty of 'hopes for humanity' who think they have a chance at clearing the Final Instance and whose lives are more precious than those of ordinary players. Such people would never be willing to die here as collateral for low-value lifeforms like us."
Vader, more or less understanding her plan, couldn't help but sneer, "So you're saying good guys deserve to have a gun pointed at their heads."
Asakura Yuko replied with a straight face, "They teamed up against Fu Jue. That hardly makes them good people. And for someone so concerned with the fate of good people, I don't recall you hesitating to threaten me into cooperating with you at the beginning."
"So you're saying you're a good person?"
"I believe I am."
"You certainly acted the part at first, but now... forget it. From the sound of it, have you completely given up on getting the True End? Just sitting in the temple playing a murder mystery sounds boring as hell."
"No. As far as I know, an original strategy for clearing an instance doesn't often lead to a better outcome. On the contrary, it usually increases the risk of death. Although, given your age, I can't expect you to get over your adolescent phase of believing you have a protagonist's halo overnight..."
"Hey, I'm sixteen, okay? Listening to you, should I respond with a 'boring adult' just to fit the part?"
Bantering back and forth, the two leaped from the rooftop and hurried toward the temple.
Just then, a sonorous bell began to toll. A single, cold "Dong!" fell from the high heavens to the earth, sending out invisible ripples.
Night descended the moment the bell rang, devouring the light inch by inch with every toll.
Asakura Yuko and Vader reached the temple square just in time, climbed the steps, and crossed the threshold just as darkness swallowed the city whole.
Their cumbersome black robes gave way to white, form-fitting garments. The clean fabric was spattered with blood, a testament to their recent encounter in the North District.
This time, only four people sat at the long table in the center of the temple. With more than half of the thirteen chairs vacant, the hall felt vast and desolate.
Asakura Yuko did a quick count. Including herself and Vader, plus Thompson, Fujiwara Shinno, Sigmund, and Fran Parker who were already there, only half of the original players remained.
The sky outside was now completely dark. Giles and Julie hadn't returned. They were likely doomed. The only question was whether they had run into one of the instance's death traps or fallen at the hands of other players...
The main seat was empty; Qi Si had left the main hall. But Asakura Yuko could still feel an intense, almost solid pressure, as if she were being watched by the eyes of a god-level being across a vast distance of space and time.
Of the four who had arrived earlier, all but Sigmund had a stagnant, deathly stillness on their faces. Even though they were facing different directions, she felt as if she were being watched by three pairs of eyes at once.
"Can any of you tell me what happened?" Asakura Yuko asked, maintaining her composure as she sat down. "We ran into some trouble in the North District. I was wondering if you've also triggered some kind of special mechanic."
Thompson turned to look at her, a silver-gray light swimming in the depths of his eyes. "Giles and Julie were attacked. They went missing in the North District..."
...
The bell tower next to the temple pierced the clouds. Its ferocious spire was like a monster's fang, a narrow silhouette set against the orange-yellow sky.
Qi Si climbed the web-covered ladder, ascending step by step, and stopped in the dust-filled chamber at the top of the bell tower.
In the center of the chamber, a yellowed parchment scroll lay on a display stand. Its edges were moth-eaten, and it was damaged and decayed in many places.
He snapped his fingers. The dust motes floating in the air vanished. The parchment scroll slowly unfurled a corner, revealing three lines of divine titles:
[The God of Life, Incarnation of the World Tree's Origin]
[The Death Master, Wielder of Creation and Annihilation]
[The Holy Being, Birther of Sea, Land, Sky, Wind, and Rain]
The moment he looked, information flooded his mind. A primal fear, one from the dawn of creation and etched into his very blood and bone, trembled deep within his soul.
A colossal woman walked the earth. The spider silk falling from her fingers wove a web that covered heaven and earth. Birds, fish, and frogs circled her naked body, forming a writhing garment.
The newborn gods were as small as ants, bound by silk and placed where they belonged, taught what they must do. From then on, all things had order, and the World Tree flourished with vibrant life.
Until one day, the massive body came crashing down. The shadow that had loomed overhead suddenly vanished, kicking up billowing dust and an echo that lingered for an eternity.
The woman's head became the high mountains, her white hair the snow and ice on their peaks. Her blood became the rivers, her flesh the fertile soil.
The gods rejoiced in their hard-won freedom, feasting on the remains that held her authority. From that day on, they lost their only mother. They went from weak fledglings to formidable adults, yet for years to come, they would live immersed in the fear of her shadow's return...
"So it is true. This was the contingency you left behind?" Qi Si stared at the parchment for a moment, then suddenly bent over, clutching his stomach and bursting into laughter.
"An interesting attempt. You let that fool Li think he had successfully altered history, while in fact, you used his authority and statues to conceal the lingering presence of the Ancestral God.
"You deliberately left a flaw to lure me to the Holy City, to make a deal with me, and to use my hand to accelerate the Ancestral God's revival. A clever move. I never thought Her followers would learn to deceive."
His laughter slowly faded. He turned his head to look at Father Laqi, who stood silently behind him. He raised an index finger to his lips. "But no matter. I will continue to help you gather that World's Fruit.
"After all, I myself am quite curious about the exact process of a god reviving in a new vessel."