Chapter 40

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Chapter 40: Star Death Reality Show (XXIII)

In front of the screen, Qi Leren went completely cold. Even the temperature regulating suit couldn’t keep out the chill pouring into the bottom of his heart.

The “Qi Leren” in the game knew “Passerby A”, but Qi Leren didn’t remember “Passerby A” ever meeting “Qi Leren”. Was the save file changed or the whole game changed?

Qi Leren stared at the “Qi Leren” on the screen. “Qi Leren” had ignored Passerby’s existence. After seeing Maria’s tombstone, he went to Ning Zhou and started a familiar conversation that made his hair stand on end.

“She always wanted to go back,” Ning Zhou said.

“Go back to the Holy City?” “Qi Leren” in the game asked.

Ning Zhou nodded: “But she had been unable to go back and dared not to.”

“Qi Leren” asked him, “Do you want to go back to the Holy City?”

As if it was fate, he watched the same story unfold before his eyes, only this time, he was a passerby. It was also this unique perspective that made him see many things that he hadn’t noticed before—originally at that time, had Ning Zhou’s face really looked like this?

That faint shyness, when he changed his perspective, was so obvious that it couldn’t be hidden. And the look in Ning Zhou’s eyes… Those eyes that reflected the golden glow of the sunset, where can you hide the tenderness?

Maybe only two people who had feeling for each other would be too stupid to see clearly.

The following story was almost according to the exact direction of the Nightmare World, except that there was one more “Passerby”. The “Qi Leren” in the game seemed to be familiar with him. From the words inadvertently mentioned by “Qi Leren”, they had come from the same Novice Village. Just when Qi Leren thought he was replacing Dr. Lu, Dr. Lu also appeared, and the number of people on the Holy City task this time became five.

Passerby A, Qi Leren, Ning Zhou, Dr. Lu, and… Su He.

The Devil of Fraud who had hidden his identity and appeared in front of them as a friendly senior once again joined their ranks.

Don’t take Su He, don’t take him!

However, no matter how the Qi Leren in front of the screen shouted in his heart, he still knew nothing about the future fate in the game. Passerby A was just a passer-by, who couldn’t control all of this. The game didn’t even give him any options; he could only choose to go along the established route.

Until they came to the Holy City, until the nightmare of the new moon came, until…

Until “Qi Leren” died.

When the Passerby, who had drunk the antidote, hurried to the old site of the Vatican along with Dr. Lu, everything was already over. Qi Leren didn’t even have to go to the Vatican on top of the mountain, because he knew that the other Qi Leren was sleeping in the tree tomb in the Garden of the Holy Tomb.

Once, there was an afternoon with warm sunshine, when they had had a picnic here, the grass and treetops were full of flowers. A gust of wind had blown, and blue and white petals fell in abundance. At that time, he had been lying in the hollow tree stump covered with green grass, relaxing in the sunshine.

Past and present seem to overlap in this cutscene.

He came to the Garden of the Holy Tomb, silently watching “Qi Leren” sleep in the tree tomb under the starry night with the milky way hanging high above them, and Ning Zhou quietly standing beside “Qi Leren”.

From dusk to dawn.

Companionship was always short, but missing could be very long.

This long thought, this long farewell, may take up this person’s whole life—if he didn’t wake up.

The Holy City was becoming more and more boisterous, and finally it was time to say goodbye.

He saw that Ning Zhou, who had not recovered from his injuries, had picked seven white wild roses and plucked off the thorns one by one, which seemed to be him breaking free from the shackles of his heart one after another, and every bloody thorn pierced his skin.

He was breaking free from his chains, but wasn’t he taking off his armor?

This was his farewell to his lover, and also to the faith that dominated the first half of his life. From now on, he would continue to have faith, but he would no longer be accepted by that faith, because he was already a heretic.

When Ning Zhou placed the seven white roses on Qi Leren, his expression told Qi Leren that he had made a decision.

The Qi Leren in front of the screen choked on his breath, and both dry and wet tears stung his skin. They formed a thin layer of frost, and his chest seems to have a fire burning inside it, burning him, tearing his heart, cracking his lungs, an inferno that made him unable to breathe.

On the day of his resurrection, he had seen the withered white roses, but he hadn’t seen the man who had carefully cut off every thorn, so even if he was sad, he was full of hope, and he knew that they would meet again one day.

But when this scene that he had never seen before was staged before his eyes, he knew what it was to have pain pierce his heart.

Had he experienced one tenth, one hundredth, one thousandth of Ning Zhou’s pain?

But even if it was one tenth, one hundredth, or one thousandth of the pain, once he felt the same way, it was tantamount to torture.

When Ning Zhou had stepped out of the Garden of the Holy Tomb and walked to the cathedral at the highest point of the Vatican, Qi Leren looked at his back; when he knelt in front of the statue of Maria and drew a cross on his chest, Qi Leren looked at the side of his face; when the archangel with blazing wings was summoned to come here, he merged his strength with Ning Zhou, and he held the Sword of Judgment. Ning Zhou also held the virtual Sword of Judgment, and waved it hard in the direction of the rising sun, cutting open this dead field with one slash.

Amid the holy power that filled the sky, the gold and silver spots, and the hymns and music, this church seemed like a heaven on earth.

Qi Leren looked at his lover like a holy angel, but he couldn’t help smiling proudly, even though the tears on his face had not dried.

But such a smile only stayed on his face for a moment.

In this glorious destruction, the holy field was touched by the power of the Devil, and the darkness hidden in the abyss was ready to move and quietly come to this pure land. The blazing angel possessed by Ning Zhou was attacked by the power of this dark demon and gradually dissipated, turning into falling feathers all over the sky. The strong wind swept into this world and woke it from its dream.

The power of holiness was cut off, and a red light flashed in his eyes. Ning Zhou covered his face painfully, clutching the Sword of Judgment and kneeling on the ground.

A narration appeared on the screen, making Qi Leren fall into ice:

[The child of the Lord of Destruction and the Holy Nun returned to the place where the story began, ending the Holy Nun’s life regret. These lovers, who once shared the same ideals and explored the mysteries of the world together, ended tragically. The power of destruction and the power of protection were doomed to clash. Perhaps, when chasing the ultimate source of power, whether a saint or a demon, you will eventually get lost in power and forget yourself…]

[A new destructive force has begun to wake, will he repeat the same mistakes? Or is it that a new miracle is faintly brewing in his body…]

Qi Leren collapsed in his chair, staring at the narration disappearing from the screen.

He thought that this world was crazy.

Otherwise, how could it treat Ning Zhou like this?

How could this gentle, kind-hearted believer who had devoted his whole life to fighting the Devils be a descendant of a Devil? And the power of that Devil was awakening in him…

Could Ning Zhou accept it?

Qi Leren trembled, afraid that he would not have the strength.

He couldn’t imagine how a devout believer, who had just lost his lover and been excommunicated from the Holy See, could accept this truth. If there was a God in this world, how could He add another whip mark to a scarred person?

God, he has suffered so much pain, why do you want to break his back, so that he can’t keep his last faith and pride?

Do you really love him? Have you really loved him? Will the believer not be subjected to irresistible temptations, and his faith in you will help him overcome these temptations. Isn’t that what is written in the Canon?

Qi Leren couldn’t say anything. He was just a passerby watching this tragedy happen, but he couldn’t say a word.

This task had come to an end. After evacuating the residents of the Holy City and watching them follow the people of the Holy See to the distant Neverland, Qi Leren got on the aircraft and once again returned to the Village of Dusk. Here, he was faced with another choice: whether to follow Ning Zhou to continue the next task, or to stay in the Village of Dusk.

Without a doubt, Qi Leren chose to follow Ning Zhou.

Ning Zhou returned to Neverland. He wanted to go back to the Holy See and confess his decision to the Pope. Qi Leren waited for him at the Holy See’s stronghold outside Neverland, waiting three days and three nights.

The wind on the tundra was cold, and in the long polar night, the aurora brightened the sky in a mighty display. Qi Leren stood at the top of the valley and looked at the boundless world of ice and snow in the distance, but this beautiful scenery made him feel desperate.

He knew Ning Zhou would come out from the world that had once sheltered him and imprisoned him, but the fate imposed on him didn’t know what compassion was, and it would lead him to another bloody world, which was even more cruel than any before.

He was such a good person, but he bore such a cruel future, a future that could destroy his will.

His life seemed to be cursed, and he kept losing, and losing again, until there was nothing left to lose… When he was a teenager, he had lost his only relative, and when he grew up, he had lost his lover, and even the land of eternity that filled his soul had closed the door to him, even in the distant future, he would even lose himself.

The Passerby on the screen looked at the snow with a straight face, but the Qi Leren outside the screen burst into tears.

When you love someone, even if he is wronged only a little, it makes you feel too distressed.

His yearning heart could no longer be suppressed, and Qi Leren impatiently wanted to fly to Ning Zhou now, give him a hug, and tell him—at least he hasn’t lost him yet.

Three days later, Ning Zhou returned, and they boarded the aircraft again, flying to the distant Sea of Tranquility desert and heading for the Underground Ant City.

At dawn, the sunshine outside the window fell on Ning Zhou’s face through thick glass, and Qi Leren looked at him quietly. He did not tell him the story of “Qi Leren”, as if he had forgotten that he had this deep love.

It seemed that he was neither sad nor forlorn, as if he had cured himself.

This calmness was a sort of despair.

On the 29th day after the task of the Holy Nun, Qi Leren, who had triggered the second part of the main task but was forced to part ways with Ning Zhou, got a system prompt:

[Party member Ning Zhou has died.]

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