HP - Chapter 26

Kingdom of Gods 04

"So… will you do me this favor?"

Ji Zhou's gaze went past Xiao Huan and finally settled on the group of bald men who had retreated to the door.

"Haha, so it's an old acquaintance of God Zhou."

The bald man stretched his lips into a smile, his eyes filled with vigilance, and said cautiously, "It was all a misunderstanding before, we meant no harm."

"Thanks."

Ji Zhou smiled again upon hearing this, "Then do me a favor and steer clear of my boss from now on. Otherwise, I'm afraid this bottle in my hand might get a mind of its own and decide it wants to go 'boom' on a few heads for some fun."

He delivered this threat with the most polite attitude.

"No problem, no problem."

The bald man and his crew mirrored his politeness, grasped the tavern door handle, and said, "We have other matters to attend to, so we'll take our leave now."

Ji Zhou waved with a smile: "Good night."

Once outside the tavern, the bald man narrowed his eyes and raised a hand to stop his underling from speaking.

"I thought Ji Zhou was a lone wolf, but it turns out he has a boss… How come I never heard about this before?"

He felt resentment and anger, but more than that, caution and fear, "Damn, there are more and more tough customers in the city these days."

"What about Shaofei's revenge…"

"Since it's Ji Zhou's boss, it seems they aren't bloodthirsty types either."

The bald man thought for a moment and said, "You guys go search for Shaofei near the city outskirts. I want to see him alive or his body if he's dead. If he's dead, even better, then we can ask Luo Shen to intervene."

"Yes."

A few underlings muttered, "They're supposed to be 'Gods', how can they even die?"

The bald man raised his hand and smacked them, "You really think you're 'Gods'? No matter how real this world feels, it's still a virtual world. It's just that those maniacs higher up… even if it's fake, they want to be above everyone else. What they can't achieve in reality, they can only accomplish in the game."

Back in the tavern, Xiao Huan led the way in staring at Zhong Xu, exclaiming in surprise, "Ah, so she's the boss you mentioned, the one who's both wolf-like and fiery?"

Zhong Xu: "…"

"Sorry about that, I just like stirring up trouble, didn't mean anything by it."

Xiao Huan then pointed at Ji Zhou, "He's a bad influence, I used to be so well-behaved."

Ji Zhou warned: "Don't spread rumors."

Such an unexpected reunion felt quite coincidental to Zhong Xu, while Ji Zhou seemed very happy, looking like he wanted to have a long chat.

Zhong Xu swiftly stopped him: "Let's eat. My stomach feels very empty."

With the disturbance settled, the tavern returned to calm. The customers went back to eating and drinking as they were.

The wait staff also began serving food, and soon the table was full.

Ji Zhou looked at Zhong Xu, who was busy devouring her food, with a complicated expression, and silently called the owner over.

"...Owner, more dishes."

He opened the bottle of alcohol in his hand, poured a glass for Zhong Xu and Ran Ran each, and glanced at Zhong Xu's expression: "Has it been a long time since you last ate?"

Zhong Xu: "The last time I ate was with you."

Ji Zhou: "...?"

After their stomachs were no longer empty, Ji Zhou ordered two more drinks and went with Zhong Xu to the terrace behind the tavern.

"To our reunion."

Ji Zhou moved his glass over and gently clinked it against Zhong Xu's.

Zhong Xu took a sip of her drink, then suddenly raised her hand, pinched Ji Zhou's chin, and turned his face left and right, full of scrutiny.

"Hey, hey, hey... since when did you start teasing people?"

Ji Zhou let her maneuver his face and asked with a smile, "So, what's the verdict? Have I gotten more handsome?"

"You look a bit like life has given you a beating."

"And what was I like before?"

"Pretty silly."

That clear-eyed young man with a radiant, beaming smile gradually faded into the distance, becoming blurry.

The current Ji Zhou had sharp, defined features, and it seemed like edges had grown on him. Even though he still appeared casual and nonchalant, it had become a facade.

"I think I finally understand why I felt so secure when I was with you."

Ji Zhou said with a complicated expression, "It's because you're very honest."

"Thanks, you're not bad either."

"Before I could even fully process the previous level, I was thrown into this damned place."

Ji Zhou gazed into the dark, starless night sky, "It took me a very, very long time to adapt here, to understand that if I wanted to survive, I had to put on a shell."

Zhong Xu could imagine that Ji Zhou must have experienced desperate situations.

He had to clench his fists if he wanted to live.

He must have done well enough, which was why the bald man and his crew started getting scared the moment they saw him.

"I've been looking for you all this time."

Ji Zhou turned to look at Zhong Xu.

She was taken aback by his words.

Ji Zhou gave a wry smile, a trace of grievance and disappointment flashing in his eyes.

"I wasn't entirely sure if you had entered this game, but I heard most players were in it, so I still wanted to try and find you."

"Later, I ran into Qiu Heming again. Can you believe it? He actually wants to team up with us, and he's been looking for you too."

"It's been so long, I was almost ready to give up."

"Thinking it might be for the best if you weren't in this level... after all, it's shown me just how terrifying humans can be."

Until tonight, when a friend asked him out last minute. Even though he didn’t want to go out, he still came, to this tavern he’d never been to before.

He stood outside the tavern, saw her familiar face through the glass window, and for a moment, he was actually dazed.

It was like it was fated.

Zhong Xu met his gaze, her fingers curling slightly, speechless for a moment.

All at once, she didn’t know how to respond to such a sincere heart.

"Enough of my sentimentality."

His gaze was frank, his smile as bright as ever, and he asked curiously,

"After all these years apart, how come you haven’t changed at all?"

"..."

Zhong Xu was stunned, "What did you say?"

Ji Zhou rubbed his chin: "Got some secret maintenance routine?"

"Wait."

Zhong Xu’s expression changed, "You mean, it’s been many years since we last saw each other?"

"..."

Ji Zhou was equally stunned, "Then... when did you think we last met?"

Looking at Zhong Xu’s grim expression, Ji Zhou recalled what she had said earlier in the tavern.

‘The last time I ate was with you’… was that true?

Ji Zhou thought for a moment and said:

"After entering this game, everyone went through a period of chaos. There was no time record, so we weren’t sure exactly how much time had passed."

"Later, the Pantheon was established, and the city districts were successfully built. That was probably nearly two years ago now. It took that long for everyone to truly learn how to use their card abilities."

Hearing this, Zhong Xu pinched her own cheek.

She was starting to doubt whether she was human or a ghost.

Otherwise, how could she have buried herself for so long and then dug herself out?

"Never mind, don’t think about it too much."

Ji Zhou comforted her, "This is a game world, not the real world. No matter how bizarre something is, in a game, it can be reasonable."

Zhong Xu still wasn’t entirely sure what other methods that game developer she disliked might have up his sleeve.

After all, he had said he would make her experience despair.

Was it just the blank cards?

Hard to say.

"Boss..."

Ji Zhou suddenly called out.

Zhong Xu looked over at him.

He had already shed his casual demeanor, his gaze was firm.

"Let’s form a team."

He reached out his hand to her, solemnly,

"Let’s leave this place together, get out of here alive, together."

"I remember you said you had an incurable illness?"

"Yes... but I’m trying very hard with treatment, and besides, dying in a world like this doesn’t count, right?"

His tone was also firm, full of conviction, "No matter what, I must return to the real world."

He was a sun bursting with vitality, plunging headfirst into the darkness, determined to find the hope of life.

Zhong Xu looked down at the outstretched hand.

After a long moment, she spoke slowly:

"My name is Zhong Xu."

The light in Ji Zhou’s eyes grew brighter, and he nodded:

"I’ll remember."

"It’s impossible for me to team up with you."

"..."

He said, "Why? I’ve learned not to rely on others, I can hold my own now… If you don’t believe me, you can test me however you like."

He moved his hands behind his back, then in an instant, brought them forward again, a ‘Sun’ card held between his long fingers.

At the same time, flames ignited at his fingertips.

With a gentle wave of his hand, the flame shot into the sky.

Boom —

A brilliant firework bloomed in the dark night.

The firework’s light fell into his eyes, reflecting her figure within them.

Xiao Huan, sitting in the tavern, chin in hand, said: "Is Ji Zhou… flirting?"

A companion next to her squeezed over to the window to look at the night sky fireworks: "That move works really well, I wish I could do that too."

"That’s not the issue…"

Zhong Xu sighed softly, "Ji Zhou, you want to live, you have firm belief, that’s all very good."

"It’s just that, I don’t want to live."

She said, "I prophesied that I wouldn’t live past twenty-five, and then it came true. It’s what my heart desired."

Ji Zhou was stunned for a moment, then shook his head:

"Zhong Xu, it’s not at all like you say, is it? If you had no will to live, then why did you save Ran Ran?"

Earlier at the dinner table, Ran Ran had been thanking her for her help.

"I didn’t save her… it was just very noisy."

On the first day entering the game, she started walking towards the direction of the grey tree, but no matter how far she walked, that tree seemed to remain the same distance away; she couldn’t reach it no matter what.

Later, she got tired.

She thought, forget it, let me rest in peace.

So she dug a hole and lay down in it.

She didn’t know how much time had passed until she heard sounds from above ground.

So noisy… does every game have such disgusting people?… But that girl…

The girl whose hand bones were crushed still refused to give up hope of living.

She didn’t really understand, why did she want to live so badly?

That girl, didn’t she feel the pain?

"Save me… I don’t want to die… save me…"

Pleading over and over.

Irritated by the noise, Zhong Xu finally raised her hand, pushed aside the soil above, and climbed out.

Standing in the mud, her gaze pierced through the heavy rain, landing on those two people, but she didn’t take a single step forward.

If the situation had turned bad, she definitely would have left on her own.

Ji Zhou interrupted her: "You are the most stubborn person I’ve ever met…"

Zhong Xu rolled her eyes at him and said:

"She saved herself. She held the 'Star' card, which contains the power of hope. It was her own hope to live that allowed her to survive."

"You say she held the Star card, but even when near death, she didn’t unleash the 'hope' power within it."

Ji Zhou looked directly into her eyes, his gaze gradually softening.

"It wasn’t until you appeared, Ah Xu, that you gave her 'hope'."

1. 面子 (miànzi) - Face, cultural concept of social prestige/honor,

2. 舟神 (Zhōu shén) - "Zhou God/ God Zhou," showing Ji Zhou's high status within the power system.

3. 老大 (lǎodà) -  Term for leader, showing hierarchical relationships and respect.

4. 入土为安 (rù tǔ wéi ān) - Rest in Peace, an Idiom for burial, used ironically for Zhong Xu's resignation.

5. 心之所向 (xīn zhī suǒ xiàng) - What the heart desires, a poetic phrase for deepest wishes/fate.

Characters / (Players)

• 终栩 (Zhōng Xǔ)

  • Role: Protagonist 

  • Game Role: Blank Card/Sinner

• 游戏制作人 (Game Producer)

  • Role: Creator of the game world; god-like figure

• 小蝴蝶 (Little Butterfly)

  • Role: Mechanical assistant 

~~~

尤少非 (Yóu Shàofēi) or Tomato Head: 寸头 / 番茄头 (Cùntóu / Fānqié Tóu)

Card: “Chariot”

冉冉 (Rǎn Rǎn)

Card: “Star”

光头 (Guāngtóu / Bald Man, nicknamed Dàn Gē)

Card: Unknown

双马尾少女 / 小幻 (Shuāng Mǎwěi Shàonǚ / Xiǎo Huàn)

Card: Unknown

季舟 (Jì Zhōu)

Card: “Sun”

Sevyn here ~~~

Enjoy!