Chapter 72

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Chapter 72: The Queen’s Inheritance (XI)

As to how the Prophet could survive for more than 20 years rather than being killed by increasingly difficult monthly compulsory tasks, Qi Leren had a vague guess: because of the Prophet’s original force. The force of time that he held must have had some influence on him, which allowed him to evade or delay the compulsory tasks every month to a certain extent.

Among all the field masters, only the Prophet slept in the ice palace under the Courthouse most of the time, and Su He had also said himself that “he was the one most likely to evade the task sanction, if he hadn’t lost the box”.

More than half of the field-level masters who had existed twenty-two years ago had already fallen. Those who were originally players suffered even more, because their mandatory tasks every month would only become more and more difficult, and even the use of the field would be banned in some, which made it impossible for them to survive for twenty years. On the contrary, the survivors were the group of people, namely the Pope and the Dragon Ant Queen, who were aborigines of the Nightmare World. Without this kind of trouble, even if their fields weren’t strong, they would live longer than the players.

At present, looking at this young Prophet cheekily sitting on a swing made Qi Leren feel as though time had been reversed. He was actually seeing the Prophet from this year in the Will of the World’s memory. Although the Prophet’s appearance hadn’t changed much in the past 20 years, his temperament was much more lively than that in the future. His body was full of young exuberance, and… he was ignorant of the sinister nature of this world.

This boyish look made Qi Leren easily distinguish him from the Prophet of more than 20 years later, even if he had only met both briefly.

“What are you doing here?” Qi Leren asked.

“I came to get to know you,” the Prophet smiled and said.

“……”

“I mean it, kind Miss Maria. I need your help with a task, so please help me!” The Prophet pleaded familiarly, and bowed with his hands clasped in a funny way.

“…What is it?”

“Later, the Pope will let you go to the Underground Ant City. Take me with you. I promise not to do anything. If you say not to go west I won’t, and if you tell me to jump into a pit I’ll never step over. Please, please!” the Prophet begged sincerely.

“Why don’t you go by yourself?” Qi Leren asked in wonder.

“Oh, the Underground Ant City is too far away, and I can’t fly. I can only ride a donkey. How could I go to the Underground Ant City?” The Prophet looked helpless.

There were flying machines in the future Village of Dusk, but it seemed that there were not such advanced means of transportation in the present Nightmare World… And thus, how would he get to the Underground Ant City?

“So please, be sure to take me with you. I heard that the Holy City’s Holy See and the Dragon Ant Queen have an agreement that a small number of people can be directly transferred to the Sea of Tranquility Desert, so you could take me with you,” begged the Prophet.

“How did you know I’m going to the Underground Ant City?” Qi Leren asked.

The Prophet’s bright smile stiffened for a second, and suddenly he asked seriously, “If I say I can see a part of the future, would you believe it?”

Qi Leren looked at him deeply, and he suddenly thought of many questions, such as: why was the Prophet called the Prophet?

“What kind of future do you see?”

“One that has experienced a lot of suffering, a lot of sacrifices, a lot of despair, but in the end… It’s a beautiful future.” The Prophet’s expression slowly changed from pain to relief, and he finally smiled. “It’s not clear yet, but I believe that what I’ve seen is true.”

“So, you’re still the Prophet?” Qi Leren asked.

“Yes, you could call me a prophet I guess,” the Prophet said, smiling proudly without hesitation.

Somehow, Qi Leren actually promised to take the Prophet with him. He once again came to the cathedral with the Prophet and asked him to wait outside. He went in to meet the Pope. This time, without waiting for the Pope to speak, he took the lead and smiled and asked, “Is it about the Underground Ant City?”

This familiarity did not arouse the Pope’s suspicion. The Pope sighed: “I’m afraid you need to go.”

Qi Leren wanted to ask some more questions about the gap between the two worlds, but the shadow of being seen through by the Pope before was still there. He didn’t dare to say much, and quickly took the chance to exit.

Passing the first hurdle, Qi Leren walked out of the cathedral and breathed a sigh of relief, and the Prophet outside smiled and nodded: “Let’s go to the Underground Ant City.”

[Current memory progress: 1/3. Remaining restart times: 2.]

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Maria’s face was his free pass in the Holy See. Qi Leren casually talked and laughed with the Prophet along the way, and also tested his understanding of the Holy See with a smile. As a result, the Prophet greatly surprised him—he had a good insight into religious matters both in the real world and with the Holy See in the Nightmare World, which almost led to him being exposed.

“What is the foreigner’s world like…?” Qi Leren knew perfectly well without asking.

“It’s more peaceful than here, but that’s it. The country where I lived is very peaceful, but in other parts of the world, there are wars as well. People, whether good or evil, selfish or selfless, hermits or fanatical believers, all live in that world, and contradictions and disputes can never stop. But even if there are so many shortcomings, I still love it very much. I really hope that one day, I can return to my hometown… Even if I simply looked at it again, I would be satisfied.” The Prophet laughed as he spoke, and the innocent face of a teenager finally had a haze that didn’t match his age. “But, I can’t go back.”

“That may not be the case.” So soon after entering the Nightmare World, Qi Leren still had hope for the future. “Didn’t you say you saw a beautiful future?”

“Ah, it is beautiful, but… there is no me in that future.” The Prophet folded his hands on the back of his head and strode forward with his head in his arms, as if talking about other people’s affairs. “I can’t see things related to me. Since I’ve clearly seen such a future, it’s not a future related to me. Then, it seems that a hero like me is destined to have a great career and die young.”

Qi Leren couldn’t help laughing, but after laughing, he felt sad: “Maybe you can live longer than me.”

The Prophet looked at him carefully for a while, touched his chin and shook his head. “I can’t see it, I can’t see it. It seems that our future relationship is quite good.”

Could it be bad? Maria entrusted something as important as the Scepter of Hell to the Prophet.

Yes, the Scepter of Hell.

Qi Leren still didn’t know what kind of item it was, or what its function was, but Maria had solemnly entrusted it to him and told him never to let Ning Zhou touch it. It must be something closely related to demons and even the Devils.

“It’s getting late, we should go to the Underground Ant City.” The Prophet took out a pocket watch from his clothes and looked at the time. Qi Leren glanced at his hand carelessly and his face changed in an instant:

He almost shouted “How can this pocket watch be here with you?”, but at the moment when the words came to his mouth, he remembered that he was an imposter in a dangerous task and swallowed it back abruptly.

Can’t ask, once asked, the picket mechanism of the world’s will will be aware of his abnormality.

“That watch is very beautiful. Can you show it to me?” Qi Leren asked, trying to seem casual.

“Hey, do you also think it’s good? I designed this myself! Look at this metal design, this slightly steampunk style, it’s a Victorian and industrial revolution era style, especially great!” The Prophet excitedly took off his pocket watch and handed it to Qi Leren. When he talked about his design, his eyes were bright.

“Steampunk…” Qi Leren suddenly understood something. In fact, the steampunk style in the Village of Dusk’s field was created from the Prophet’s personal preference.

But why was such a pocket watch that belonged to the Prophet in Su He’s hands more than 20 years?

Yes, Qi Leren had seen Su He open this pocket watch several times, in the Village of Dusk, in the crazy lady’s castle, in the closed Holy City…

What was the relationship between this pocket watch and the “box” lost by the Prophet? What was the relationship between the Prophet and Su He?

Countless questions entangled in Qi Leren’s mind and became an inextricable web.

He looked at the pocket watch in his hand for a long time, and recalled the Prophet sleeping under the icy lake, the tombstone of Maria behind the dilapidated church in the Village of Dusk, and the magic dragon crucified by the sword of judgment in the former site of the Vatican in the Holy City… Time and space seemed to crisscross, and the tragic fate lingered in his mind. He suddenly wanted to see Ning Zhou, even if he knew that when they really met, he might not be able to say anything and only look at Ning Zhou with a smile.

Qi Leren looked up. The sun in the Holy City was shining, there were no clouds in the blue sky, and a warm wind was blowing from afar, carrying petals from the Garden of the Holy Tomb.

Holding this pocket watch, he couldn’t help thinking of his lover who wasn’t with him.

This tender thought made him travel all the way through mountains and rivers, but he didn’t care to take a look at the scenery.

He just wanted to hurry back to Ning Zhou.

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