HP - Chapter 34

Kingdom of Gods 12

Boom—rumble.

Thunder rolled, lightning split the sky, and for an instant it illuminated the darkness around them.

Qiu Heming pressed his index and middle fingers together; a Tarot card shot out and floated in midair.

The figure riding a white horse, clad in armor, was Death.

It was a Death card.

In the pouring rain, the Death card reversed.

Pure white light surged continuously from the card’s surface, wrapping around the person lying on the ground.

This should have signified bringing the dead back to life.

But no matter how much life force poured out, it scattered the moment it touched Zhong Xu, having no effect at all.

Was she beyond saving?

Qiu Heming let out a sigh filled with regret.

At that moment, he suddenly noticed Zhong Xu’s blood-stained eyelashes tremble slightly, like the wings of a butterfly about to shatter.

He hurried over and placed his fingers against her carotid artery.

The strong, lively pulse made him waver for a moment.

She was alive. With injuries this severe, she should have died long ago from blood loss. Even without bleeding out, the sheer pain alone should have been enough to kill her.

Was it the effect of her Tarot card?

But Qiu Heming hadn’t seen her card.

“She has no Tarot card, but she can’t be killed.”

Luo Shen’s dying words drifted back to him.

They were true.

“Qiu… He… Ming…”

The faint whisper pulled Qiu Heming back to focus. He crouched even lower, trying to catch every word Zhong Xu struggled to speak.

“I’m here. What do you want to say?”

Her lips moved, but only barely. The sound was too soft to hear.

With infinite patience, Qiu Heming said, “I’ll take you somewhere safe first… You— you will survive.”

He wanted to lift her, but suddenly realized he didn’t know where to begin.

Her entire body was covered in wounds; even the slightest touch would send her into unbearable agony.

“I’ll call Ji Zhou over.” With two people lifting her, the pain would be lessened.

Just as Qiu Heming opened his communicator, Zhong Xu’s voice grew a little louder, as though she were expending the last of her strength. This time, he finally heard her clearly.

What she said was—

“Kill me.”

“Qiu Heming, kill me.”

…

The storm raged for a full day and night.

After losing contact with Qiu Heming, Ji Zhou nearly lost his mind. One of the things he hated most in life was when someone he was supposed to meet became unreachable.

First Zhong Xu, and now Qiu Heming—he was truly going mad.

So Ji Zhou simply headed toward the city exit.

Unable to find any trace of Zhong Xu within the city and unable to reach Qiu Heming, he concluded that they must have run into trouble near the exit.

But when he arrived, there was nothing.

No bodies, no blood, no one at all.

But he could be certain that something had definitely happened here.

Even though the storm had washed everything clean, it hadn’t erased the faint smell of blood.

Uneasy, he mobilized all his friends to help search, and spent the entire sleepless night repeatedly messaging Qiu Heming.

Meanwhile, in the Judgment Eye council chamber—

“The Tarot Path really produces talent nonstop,” said a sarcastic voice—the head of the reconnaissance team.

He was usually meticulous about slicking back his hair, but now a few damp strands hung loose. On a day like this, no one who went out in the storm could avoid looking disheveled.

He opened his light-brain device and projected the city’s social platform onto the wall.

Everywhere he looked, the entire platform was nearly plastered with the same Wanted Notice.

“A hacker from the Tarot Path took over this platform. They say they’re offering a bounty to find this person.”

The anger from overtime work made his tone sharp and irritated: “I really don’t know which hero is so capable—they actually managed to offend the Tarot Path.”

Everyone began whispering among themselves.

Standing at the very back, Ning Zhi pushed up her black-framed glasses, stunned to recognize the face on the wanted poster—it was the tavern waitress who pretended to be an NPC.

Could she have gone alone to retrieve her card, only to end up provoking the Tarot Path? Ning Zhi speculated to herself.

“What did this girl do?”

The slick-haired team leader smoothed his hair again and said, “I asked around. This person went to one of the Tarot Path’s bases—the Abandoned Tower—and killed two of their members. Their drones caught her perfectly on camera.”

Whether it was the Judgment Eye or the Pantheon, even knowing where the Tarot Path’s bases were, they would never recklessly barge in. Everyone knew drones circled their perimeter, capturing facial data. The moment you made a move and were flagged as exceeding the danger threshold, they would record you instantly.

“This woman is that fierce?” Members of the Judgment Eye were stunned. “And the most shocking thing is, if there’s already a wanted notice, doesn’t that mean the Tarot Path still didn’t catch her, even with all their drones?”

“No. Supposedly, her location was locked almost immediately,” the slick-haired leader corrected, shaking his head. “Even Luo Shen herself went after her.”

“And even then they didn’t catch her? She ran?”

“The latest information I have is that even Luo Shen—the one who went to capture her—has disappeared.”

“What?”

The team leader smoothed his glossy hair again and let out a chuckle. “This woman’s something else. Anyway, our higher-ups—and the Pantheon—are paying close attention now. Every organization is searching for her. If she’s really that strong, then perfect—we can recruit her to fight against the Tarot Path.”

“Our mission now is also to find her, starting immediately! Search even in the storm!” The slick-haired leader tilted his head toward the screen. “Come to think of it… why does she look kind of familiar?”

Ning Zhi stayed silent. She followed the other team members out of the chamber to begin the mission.

For now, she should head to that tavern first.

“Hey! Qiu Heming!”

Only after the storm stopped did Ji Zhou finally manage to connect to Qiu Heming’s communicator.

He nearly burst into tears.

“Where are you? Did you find Ah Xu? Do you realize how wrong things are getting? The Tarot Path hacked the whole platform to issue a bounty, and Xiao Huan and the others say they also received a search mission from the Judgment Eye. Anyway—send me your location! I’ll come find you immediately! I swear, what is wrong with you—why didn’t you answer or call back? I’m losing my mind over here!”

The barrage of questions poured out, leaving Qiu Heming with a helpless, bitter smile.

“Ji Zhou.”

Ji Zhou quieted down. “Mm, go ahead.”

Hearing Qiu Heming’s voice eased his nerves considerably.

“Zhong Xu… is dead.”

“…” Ji Zhou’s mind went blank, as if he couldn’t fully hear Qiu Heming. “What did you say?”

“Zhong Xu is dead.” Qiu Heming’s voice rose noticeably—heavy, as if something clogged his throat. “Let it be.”

“What do you mean let it be? No… I don’t understand…” Ji Zhou paused, then insisted, “Send me your location. I’ll come find you right now.”

Knowing he couldn’t stop him, Qiu Heming sent his location.

Ji Zhou immediately set out, and at the stairwell he ran into Xiao Huan and some other friends who had come back to rest.

“Ji Zhou, did you find your boss?” Xiao Huan asked.

“No.” His mood was clearly off.

Xiao Huan blocked his way and looked at him softly. “If you know where your boss is, you can tell us, you know. The Judgment Eye isn’t trying to harm her—they just want to invite her to join them against the Tarot Path.”

“I said, I haven’t found her.” Ji Zhou’s gaze chilled.

Hearing that, Xiao Huan’s expression also darkened. “After spending so long together, we still can’t compare to your teammates from the last stage, huh?”

Another friend stepped in to ease the tension. “No need to make this awkward. Ji Zhou’s upset because he hasn’t found his boss. Ji Zhou, don’t take it personally—we’re just doing our mission. Besides, for all our talking, we never reported to the Judgment Eye that the girl on the wanted notice is your boss.”

“I know.” Ji Zhou had steadied himself slightly and lowered his voice. “I was just too anxious.”

Xiao Huan gave a small huff and slowly stepped aside.

Ji Zhou thanked them and quickly left.

Watching his back, Xiao Huan folded her arms, eyes flashing. “He’s rushing like that—must be related to his boss. Let’s tail him.”

“Xiao Huan… if Ji Zhou finds out, will we still be friends?”

“Are you two brainless? Our goal is the same as his—to get out of this damned place. If leaving is the goal, then we should use every method available… Who came here to make friends?” As she spoke, Xiao Huan had already set off silently, flipping her hair. “Besides, we’re not from the Tarot Path—we’re not going to hurt her.”

But thoughts were pretty; reality was not simple.

They followed for a while, only to realize at some point Ji Zhou had vanished without a trace.

Xiao Huan stomped in frustration. “He’s getting better and better… he even guessed we’d follow him. He shook us off without a sound.”

Someone rubbed their nose. “Probably because of that—he only treats us as friends, never as teammates.”

…

After the storm, the sky still did not clear.

The entire city district fell into deeper chaos; beneath the façade of prosperity lurked weakness and emptiness.

This beautiful bubble would burst sooner or later.

Suppressing the turmoil inside, Qiu Heming stepped into the fountain square.

Ji Zhou had arrived long ago. Seeing him, he quickly approached and got straight to it, sharply observing, “You came back from outside the city.”

Though this was only the third game, he had already spent over two years in this world. He had long shed the naïve, inexperienced novice he once was, becoming sharp and strong.

Qiu Heming froze briefly, then smiled. “Yes. I threw away my jacket and did a quick wash-up at a public restroom, but I didn’t expect you’d still notice.”

“When I returned, the whole city was covered in wanted posters. Everyone on the street—whether Tarot Path or Judgment Eye—was searching for Zhong Xu,” Qiu Heming said. “So I tidied up a bit to avoid being dragged in for questioning.”

“You’re lying to me, aren’t you?” Ji Zhou asked, staring straight into his eyes. He simply didn’t believe it.

Qiu Heming met his gaze calmly. “I’m not lying. Zhong Xu is dead.”

“You were there, weren’t you? You went. So why would she die?” Ji Zhou’s eyes turned red, his face pale. “How did she die? Who…?”

A long silence. Only after Ji Zhou repeated the question over and over did Qiu Heming finally speak.

Still looking at him, gaze steady: “It was me. I killed Zhong Xu.”

Sevyn here ~~~

Enjoy!