HP - Chapter 49

Thank you Elaina for the Ko-fi

Kingdom of Gods 27

“This key is to my room. I’m giving it to you.”

During breakfast, White Butterfly suddenly appeared in the cafeteria. Amid a sea of bowed heads, she gracefully sat down in front of Zhong Xu and placed a crystal stone beside her plate.

Ji Zhou nearly choked on his milk.

It wasn’t surprising that White Butterfly had noticed Zhong Xu had been in her room, but the fact that she openly called her out and directly handed over the key was baffling.

“What?” Zhong Xu also looked confused. “There’s only one bed in your room. Are the three of us going to squeeze onto it together?”

“…Cough, cough, cough, cough…”

This time, Ji Zhou really did choke.

“I just love this act of yours—playing dumb.” White Butterfly chuckled and winked at Zhong Xu. “But three people in one bed wouldn’t pass the censors. You’ll have to wait until both the Scorpion King and I are away before you go exploring again.”

“So it’s a permanent unlock item for a new location.” Zhong Xu unceremoniously pocketed the crystal stone and asked, “Can I bring someone along for a tour?”

“…No.” White Butterfly’s tone turned stiff.

Zhong Xu looked regretful.

“The Kingdom of Gods—a group of sinners were exiled here to receive divine judgment. But God was too merciful, and the sinners too heinous. They schemed to steal the fruit of the Tree of Faith, robbing God of divine power. Bereft of its fruit, the Tree of Faith quickly lost its luster. The gods fell, one by one, until only one remained, hiding their identity among the sinners.”

“But sinners are always sinners. Even stealing divine power doesn’t make them gods. So they could only carve out another space, pretending it was the true ‘Kingdom of Gods.’”

White Butterfly’s voice was soft. The nearby members had already vacated the area the moment she sat down.

So only Ji Zhou and Zhong Xu could hear her.

Even though Zhong Xu and Ji Zhou had already pieced together a similar truth the night before, White Butterfly’s frankness now was still surprising.

What did she want?

Zhong Xu reacted quickly. “A good morning story?”

White Butterfly met her gaze. “The truth of the world.”

“Ah, why didn’t you say so earlier?” Zhong Xu looked shocked. “I thought you were telling a story, so I didn’t listen carefully and even yawned… Could you say it again?”

White Butterfly felt her patience wearing thin. “You’ve been in my room—couldn’t you piece together the general truth?”

“Ah.” Zhong Xu sighed. “When I play games, I prefer solving puzzles and fighting. I’m not really interested in understanding the story background—I always skip the cutscenes. So try to understand, okay?”

“….” White Butterfly seemed to think of something, held back her frustration, and repeated the story.

“Mhm, mhm…” Zhong Xu listened intently, nodding repeatedly, even leaning in as if trying to catch every detail.

Seeing how earnestly she listened, White Butterfly’s expression softened slightly after repeating herself.

Zhong Xu asked seriously, “So the Pantheon hid the entrance to the real Kingdom of Gods in order to cover up the truth?”

Zhong Xu nodded and asked, “Does the withering of the Tree of Faith bring disaster to this world?”

“So you noticed after all.” White Butterfly admitted it. “After all, the world requires a mechanism of balance.”

“If disaster strikes and the world is destroyed, how can the Pantheon build a free and happy kingdom?”

White Butterfly burst into laughter. After laughing for a while, she said, “That’s not something you need to worry about. When disaster occurs, whoever can save humanity becomes the savior. The Pantheon will surely become that savior.”

Zhong Xu’s final question: “You seem to know far too much.”

“Zhong Xu, I’m genuinely seeking to cooperate with you. That’s why I’ve told you so much. I hope you won’t disappoint me.”

…

“Too many lies mixed in with the truth.” After White Butterfly left, Zhong Xu began drinking the milk in front of her.

“She didn’t answer your last question,” Ji Zhou said.

“Forget it. Who she is isn’t important. But this conversation confirmed one thing for me.” Zhong Xu’s gaze turned cold. “Her goal isn’t to build a kingdom at all—it’s to kill every single player.”

Ji Zhou was stunned. “Where did you get that from?”

In Zhong Xu’s mind, the image of the man wearing the black butterfly mask surfaced.

“Last night, I thought she was hiding the truth because she was in league with the mastermind behind the scenes.”

Maliciously targeting her, concealing the identities of gods and sinners in order to torment her.

But once that assumption was overturned—

Drawing the sinner identity yet hiding the entrance to the true Kingdom of Gods made no sense. There was nothing in this truth worth concealing, especially since White Butterfly herself held the sinner identity—the one with the greatest numbers.

“In reality, she knows that the Tree of Faith maintains the world’s balance. So she’s waiting for it to continue withering and trigger a disaster. There are too many players—killing them all herself would take too much time and effort.”

“But…” Ji Zhou’s face was filled with shock and uncertainty. “Why would she want to kill all the players?”

“I don’t know. It’s not important for now.” Zhong Xu quickly made up her mind and curved her lips into a faint smile at Ji Zhou.

“I’ve heard the leader of the Judgment Eye is a very rigid person?”

Ji Zhou nodded.

“He should come to the Pantheon for discussions or something. When he does, secretly capture him and bring him to me.”

Ji Zhou raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? The moment he sees you, he’ll probably attack and try to kill you on the spot.”

“It doesn’t matter. I have a trump card.”

As night fell, Zhong Xu took the elevator to the second floor.

The moment she saw Zhong Xu, Ran Ran looked surprised, her face unable to hide her delight.

She lived in a small room that served as both her sleeping quarters and her workspace. All the light in the base came from her Tarot card ability.

Zhong Xu’s gaze swept around once, taking in the entire room.

This made Ran Ran a little self-conscious. Confused and cautious, she asked, “Senior, why have you come?”

“Have you eaten dinner yet?”

Ran Ran shook her head with a smile. “Members at my level can only eat one meal a day.”

Even though the Pantheon controlled many resources, they were still limited. So they were distributed by rank—not everyone could have three meals a day.

“But I’m not hungry,” Ran Ran quickly added. “My work doesn’t take much effort, so I don’t need to eat that much.”

“I brought you something to eat.” Having stayed here for a few days, Zhong Xu had already guessed this, so she had taken two pieces of bread and two eggs from the cafeteria.

Ran Ran received them with flattered surprise, thanked her gratefully, and put the food into a drawer.

Zhong Xu spoke up, “Eat. I brought two portions—the other one is for your sister.”

Not expecting Zhong Xu to see through her, Ran Ran felt a bit embarrassed and said softly, “My sister is in solitary confinement. She eats once every five days, and the food is pitifully little—just enough so she won’t starve or die of thirst… But it’s really unbearable.”

Zhong Xu asked, “Do you want to save your sister?”

Hearing this, Ran Ran quickly asked, “Senior, do you have a way to get my sister out? Of course I do! Every day I wish my sister could leave solitary confinement as soon as possible! There isn’t a single ray of light in there… I’m afraid that even if her body holds up, her mind won’t.”

“I can’t save her.” Zhong Xu looked directly into her eyes. “But you can.”

Ran Ran waved her hands repeatedly. “I can’t. I don’t even have half of my sister’s ability.”

“The fact that you were able to enter the Pantheon proves you’re not without value. You have ability—you just never believe in yourself. You only manage to bring it out when you’re in a desperate situation.”

“Doesn’t that just prove I have no ability?”

Zhong Xu shook her head. “The meaning of your card is Hope. As long as you’re willing, your ability can surpass everyone else’s. Ran Ran, think about it—if you stay where you are, next time it will still be your sister protecting you.”

Ran Ran trembled and slowly lowered her head.

“If you want to save your sister, find Ji Zhou tomorrow and tell him you want to fight alongside him.”

Ran Ran asked, “If I fight alongside God Zhou, will he help me save my sister?”

“No. Then your ability will be seen by the Pantheon. To keep you steady and make you unleash even greater strength, they’ll release your sister. So in essence, you’ll be the one saving your sister.”

Ran Ran stood stunned for a long while, then slowly nodded. “I see, so that's how it is… Thank you, Senior. I understand.”

“Don’t thank me, Ran Ran. I have a request.” Only then did Zhong Xu reveal the purpose of her visit to Ran Ran’s room that night. “I want to obtain ‘Morning Dew.’”

Ran Ran was stunned. “I’ve heard Morning Dew is very precious. And because it’s becoming increasingly scarce, it’s now strictly controlled by the Pantheon. Only those with exceptionally powerful Tarot cards receive it as a reward…”

“Senior, with God Zhou’s ability, if he asked the Pantheon for it, they would probably give it to him, right?”

“Time’s about up. I have to go.” Zhong Xu grasped the door handle and tilted her head slightly, leaving one final remark. “Ran Ran, you can’t afford to remain this naive.”

…

“Ah Xu, come to the Little Bee meeting room. The person’s been caught.”

After receiving the message, Zhong Xu took the elevator to the fifth floor and found a meeting room with a little bee painted on it.

Pushing the door open, she saw a man in his thirties tightly bound to a chair, muffled sounds of “Mmmph, mmmph” coming from him.

Zhong Xu: “…What are you doing?”

The moment the man saw Zhong Xu, the fury in his eyes flared even brighter, as if he wanted nothing more than to tear off the ropes and seize her immediately.

Ji Zhou shook the Tarot card in his hand. “Don’t worry. I’m holding onto his card for now. He can’t escape.”

“No, I meant—why did you tie him up like this?”

“Huh? Isn’t this how kidnappings are done?”

Zhong Xu was speechless. “Who said anything about kidnapping? I’m here to discuss cooperation.”

“…”

Ji Zhou swallowed. “If I untie him now, will he be so angry he spits blood in front of me?”

“Forget it. Don’t untie him yet. Let’s talk about cooperation first. We’ll wait until he calms down.”

Ji Zhou glanced at the tightly bound leader of the Judgment Eye and hissed, “I don’t think he’ll be able to hear a word you say. The person he hates most is you—Xiao Huan said he even dreams about how to kill you and complete his mission.”

Hearing Ji Zhou’s words, the leader of the Judgment Eye widened his eyes, confirming it with his glare.

Zhong Xu smiled faintly. “It’s fine. I won’t speak—let White Butterfly speak.”

After saying that, she pressed the play button on her wrist device.

White Butterfly’s voice rang out from it: “The Kingdom of Gods—a group of sinners were exiled here to receive divine judgment…”

Ji Zhou: “…”

Wasn’t this the truth White Butterfly had told during breakfast?

No wonder Zhong Xu had played dumb and made White Butterfly repeat it—the purpose had been to record it.

He glanced at that rigid leader of the Judgment Eye.

Yes—he was already completely stunned.

Sevyn here ~~~

Enjoy!